M 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


A  MAN  WITH  A  PURPOSE 


A 
MAN  WITH  A  PURPOSE 


BY 

JOHN  T.  M.  JOHNSTON,  D.  D. 

AUTHOR  OF 

"THE  QUESTION  OF  THE  HOUR" 


ILLUSTRATED  BY 

HARRY  LEWIS  BAILEY 


CHICAGO 
R.  R.  DONNELLEY  &  SONS  COMPANY 

7l)r  tiihrtitir  {Jrrse 
I906 


Copyright,  1906 

BY 

JOHN  T.  M.  JOHNSTON. 


21  s 

B799J6 


DEDICATED  TO  MRS.  BROWN 

WHOSE  LOYAL  DEVOTION  AND  POISE  OF  COUNSEL 

HAVE  EVER  BEEN  A  STAY  AND  COMFORT 

TO 

"THE    MAN  WITH  A  PURPOSE" 


"i  LMAI      mi.,,      i  .  LOUIS,  U.  I,  A. 
MAR!  ii   17,  1906. 


550089 


CONTENTS 


Chapter  Page 

I  Captains  of  Industry  9 

II  Early  Tasks  on  the  Farm         -  12 

III  Earns  His  First  Five  Dollars  -       17 

IV  Choosing  a  Career  ...  19 
V  Answer  to  Mother's  First  Letter   23 

VI  Baptized  in  Tom  Bigbee  River  -       25 

VII  No  Such  Word  as  Fail     -         -  28 

VIII  A  Panic  in  Money  and  Hearts  -       33 

IX  Maxims  and  Mottoes       -  39 

X  Eighty-one  Five-Dollar  Hats  -       44 

XI  Selecting  Lieutenants  50 

XII  Wanted,  A  Young  Man       -  -       56 

XIII  Loyal  to  Employees         -         -  61 

XIV  A  Horn  of  Plenty  66 
XV  The  American  Shoe           -         -  69 

XVI  A  Glimpse  at  One  of  the  Factories    74 

XVII  Concentration          -  75 

XVIII  Attention  to  Detail  -        -  -      79 

XIX  Boston  Baked  Beans  83 

XX  Tun  Weekly  Letter  S9 

XX I  (.(.on  Cheer      -  93 

xxil  Frugal  Thrift  96 

xxiil  Clean  and  Chaste    -  99 

xxiv  Elements  that  M  ike  for  Success   102 

XXV  Import  Duty  on  Hides     -  110 

XX  V I  \   Snot    (  lOLLEGE     -           -           -  -119 


CONTENTS 

XXVII     The  Science  of  Publicity     -         -  129 

XXVIII    Side  Lights  on  Mr.  Brown's  Life  134 

XXIX     Religion  and  Philanthropy     -  154 

XXX     Ancestry       -----  156 

XXXI     The  Purpose  of  Biography        -  160 

XXXII     The  Day  of  Opportunity     -         -  166 

General  Index    -        -        -        -  172 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


FAGE 


A.   D.    Brown  -         -         -       Frontispiece 

Scenes  in  and  Near  Granville  -         -       12 

Scenes  around  the  Old   Home   at   Gran- 
ville -        -         -         -         -         -         -       x5 

The  Old  Homestead,   and  Scenes  on  the 
Stony  Farm       -         -         -         -         -  17 

Mother  Lifted  Me  by  the  Ear  -  -  19 
Catcher  of  the  Slyboro  Base  Ball  Nine, 

the  Old  School-house  in  the  Rear      -       21 
A  Letter  to  His  Mother  -         -         -       24 

"Jim,  I  Want  You  to  Take  Me  and   My 

Trunk  to  the  Station"  -         -         -       27 

Mr.  Brown  at  the  Age  of  19  -         -       29 

"We  will  never  Give  Up"        -         -  35 

Mr.    Brown     and     His    Cabinet     in     the 

Monthly  Executive  Session             -         -       50 
A  Sittching-room   in   the  Sunlight   Fac- 
tory    74 

Reading  of  the  Weekly  Letter,  in  the 
Directors'  Room,  ox  the  Ninth  Floor, 
Every    Friday  ....  89 

Plant,  1906.  First  Store,  1872  -  -  99 
Semi-annual  Tagging  ok  Samples  -  -  120 
Semi-annual     Mi-.etino-    Lecture    on     the 

Science  01    Shoemaking  -  122 

Mk.  Brown  at  THE  Age  OF  50  -  -  -  134 
Present  Home  in  St.  Louis  -  -  -  135 
The  Old  Church  at  Truthville,  on   mm 

Banes  of  the  Metowee   Rivef        -         -     157 
The  Granville  Home,  with   Portraits  of 
David    and    Matilda    Brown,     Father 
and    Mother  01    A..   i>.  Brown       -        -     158 


CHAPTER  T. 

CAPTAINS   OF   INDUSTRY. 

In  the  activities  of  the  world,  where  we  see  a  mar- 
velous advance  in  any  branch  of  industry,  we  find  a 
Napoleon  to  be  the  guiding  and  directing  spirit; 
some  man  combining  in  a  marked  degree  the  ele- 
ments that  make  for  success  is  at  the  helm. 

Men  of  achievement  in  the  commercial,  financial, 
and  industrial  world  win  laurels  that  entitle  them  to 
a  place  in  history. 

The  life  stories  of  captains  of  industry  reveal  the 
secret  forces  that  have  developed  our  cities  from 
villages  to  commercial  and  industrial  centers.  Chi- 
cago is  largely  indebted  to  Phil.  Armour  for  her 
great  packing  industry,  and  to  Marshall  Field  for 
her  lead  a>  a  dry-goods  market. 

Chicago  has  forged  ahead  of  St.  Louis  in  popula- 
tion and  wealth,  and  maintains  her  lead  in  the  pack- 
ing interest,  in  dry  goods,  and  in  some  other  branches 
of  manufacture  and  trade,  but  not  so  in  all.  St. 
Louis,  through  the  genius  of  E.  C.  Simmons,  wears 
the  crown  in  the  distribution  of  hardware,  and, 
through  Samuel  Cupples,  that  of  woodenware. 
Other  branches  <»f  industry  could  be  named,  in 
which  St.  Louis  leads  by  reason  of  strong  men 
who    have    thrown     their    lives    into     the     work. 

9 


io        A    MAX    WITH   A   PURPOSE 

There  is  an  industry  in  which  St.  Louis  leads,  not 
only  Chicago,  but  every  other  city,  that  is,  in  making 
and  selling  shoes;  and  for  her  supremacy  in  this 
great  industry  she  is  indebted  to  Alanson  David 
Brown,  the  greatest  shoe  merchant  in  the  world. 

The  story  of  Mr.  Brown's  life  is  well  worth  a  study. 
He  has  made  a  marvelous  record  and  accumulated  a 
large  fortune;  not  by  speculation,  nor  by  investing  in 
real  estate  around  which  grew  a  city,  but  by  honest 
industry  and  thrift.  In  its  accumulation  he  has  been 
a  benefactor  to  his  city,  for  in  organizing  and  building 
up  the  great  enterprise  of  which  he  is  the  head,  he  has 
opened  fields  of  employment  for  a  multitude  who 
might  otherwise  be  idle,  and  given  them,  not  only  op- 
portunity to  earn  a  living,  but  to  lay  by  a  competency. 
The  man  who  puts  a  shovel  into  another's  hand  is  a 
better  friend  than  he  who  puts  a  dollar  into  his  pocket. 

Mr.  Brown  has  used  his  genius  and  wealth  in  a 
way  that  tends  to  advance  the  best  interests  of  his 
city  and  state.  Although  he  has  given  thousands  to 
religion,  philanthropy,  and  education,  his  greatest 
benefaction  has  been  the  giving  of  employment  to 
his  fellow- men.  The  enormous  force  of  his  example 
is  such  that  it  has  ingrafted  itself  into  the  life  of  all 
his  employees  and  attachees,  from  the  humblest 
porter  to  the  highest  in  the  councils  of  his  cabinet. 
His  influence  is  not  confined  to  the  circle  of  his  asso- 
ciates in  business  and  employees,  but  his  ideas  and 
methods  have  forced  themselves  on  all  the  shoe  cen- 
ters of  the  United  States,  and  largely  revolutionized 
this  industry  throughout  America. 


CAPTAINS   OF    INDUSTRY       n 

The  great  enterprise,  of  which  Mr.  Brown  is  the 
founder  and  guiding  spirit,  is  probably  the  most 
democratic  in  the  United  States.  There  is  no  such 
thing  connected  with  it  as  a  private  office.  Every- 
thing is  done  in  an  honest,  open,  above-board  fash- 
ion. There  are  no  secrets  to  be  covered,  no  closed 
closets.  The  books  are  open,  the  capital  stock  all 
common. 

To  give  the  story  and  lesson  of  the  life  of  A.  D. 
Brown  is  the  purpose  of  this  volume. 


CHAPTER  II. 

EARLY  TASKS  ON  THE  FARM. 

I  have  known  socially,  and  in  a  business  way,  A.  D. 
Brown  for  thirty  years.  During  the  past  summer 
we  were  companions  on  a  trip  to  Europe.  In  close 
association,  especially  on  the  steamer,  I  had  a  nearer 
view  of  him,  and  was  greatly  impressed  with  the 
uniqueness  of  his  personality  and  the  strength  of  his 
character.  Having  made  a  specialty  of  biography, 
I  was  strongly  impressed  that  the  story  and  lesson  of 
his  life  should  be  given  to  the  world.  Carlyle  says, 
' '  The  story  of  any  man's  life  would  have  interest  and 
value  if  truly  told." 

Alanson  David  Brown  was  born  on  a  farm  in 
Granville  Township,  Washington  County,  New 
York,  March  21,  1847.  He  was  highly  favored  in 
the  place  of  his  birth.  Washington  County  is  classic 
ground.  Within  the  original  colonies,  its  soil  was 
the  first  on  which  a  white  man  placed  his  foot. 
Within  its  present  limits  were  fought  many  battles 
between  the  English  and  French,  and  between  the 
pioneers  and  the  Indians  tribes  that  roamed  her  hills 
and  valleys.  Here  scenes  were  enacted  that  de- 
cided, in  a  measure,  the  future  of  England,  France 
and  America.  Her  folk-lore  is  rich  in  pathetic  and 
tragic  pioneer  and  Indian  story. 

12 


S<  I  MS  IN  AND  NEAR  GRAN\  II  II 


EARLY  TASKS  ON  THE  FARM      13 

There  are  few  spots  in  America  more  picturesquely 
beautiful  than  Granville  Township.  No  artist's 
brush  or  poet's  pen  can  describe  its  panoramic  beauty 
on  an  October  day.  The  valley  is  threaded  by  the 
Mettowee  River.  The  rippling  music  of  her  gentle 
rapids  adds  interest  to  the  scene,  which  is  made  rav- 
ishingly  beautiful  by  the  rich  autumn  tints  that  only 
the  hand  of  nature  could  paint  on  the  foliage  of  her 
trees.  In  the  background  of  the  picture,  on  the 
east,  are  the  far-famed  Green  Mountains  of  Ver- 
mont; on  the  west,  the  Adirondacks  of  historic  inter- 
est. Nature  has  here  done  much  to  inspire  a  love 
for  beauty,  but  Alanson's  greatest  blessing  was  in 
his  parents,  who  endowed  him  with  their  splendid 
health  of  body  and  Spartan  virtues  of  mind.  They 
dearly  loved  their  son,  but  lavished  on  him  no  soft 
sentimentality.  They  set  for  him  tasks  and  re- 
quired their  performance,  thus  laying  firmly  the 
foundation  for  habits  of  industry.  They  instilled 
into  his  young  mind  lessons  of  truth  and  virtue  that 
opened  into  noble  character.  At  the  age  of  seven, 
his  father  gave  him  the  task  of  bringing  in  daily, 
the  firewood.  His  young  mother  did  not  question 
the  wisdom  of  the  father,  but,  fearing  the  burden 
was  so  heavy  it  might  deform  the  limbs  of  her  boy, 
assisted  him  in  the  task.  When  nine  years  old, 
milking  the  cows  was  added  to  his  list  of  duties,  and, 
every  morning  at  five  o'clock,  his  father  would  call 
from  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  "Alanson!  Alanson!  Al- 
anson!"  The  third  call  was  so  emphatic  that  it 
created  a  desire  on  the  part  of  the  lad  to  get  out  of 


i4        A   MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

bed  and  into  his  clothes.  He  now  says  the  early 
call  of  his  father,  milking  the  cows,  and  carrying  in 
the  wood  were  the  making  of  him. 

Who  can  estimate  the  influence  of  this  early  farm 
life  on  the  future  of  the  great  shoe  merchant  ?  When, 
in  the  battle  of  life,  the  city  boy  crosses  swords  with 
the  country  lad,  the  odds  are  against  him.  The 
early  rising,  the  daily  tasks,  the  economical  habits 
of  the  country  boy  prepare  him  for  the  struggle  that 
must  precede  ascendency.  Boys  from  the  fresh  air 
and  early  tasks  of  the  country  come  to  the  front, 
because  they  are  able  to  do  more  and  go  through 
more  to  win  success. 

Carnegie  tritely  says,  "Those  who  have  the  mis- 
fortune to  be  rich  men's  sons  are  heavily  weighted 
in  the  race.  A  basket  full  of  bonds  is  the  heaviest 
basket  a  young  man  ever  had  to  carry.  Look  out 
for  the  poor  boy,  who  has  to  plunge  into  work  directly 
he  leaves  the  common-school,  and  begins  by  sweep- 
ing out  the  office  or  store, —  he  is  the  probable  dark 
horse  who  will  take  the  money  and  win  the  applause." 
Said  Cyrus  Field,  when  dying,  "My  fortune  is  gone, 
my  home  dishonored.  Oh,  I  was  so  unkind  to  Ed- 
ward when  I  thought  I  was  being  kind.  If  I  had 
only  had  firmness  enough  to  compel  my  boys  to 
earn  their  living,  they  would  have  known  the  mean- 
ing of  money." 

When  in  Princeton  recently,  a  student  kindly 
proffered  to  show  me  through  the  University.  He 
was  a  highly  favored,  well-balanced  young  man.  In 
conversation,  I  asked  what  it  cost  to  attend  college 


SCENES  AROUND  THE  OLD  HOME  AT  GRANVILLE. 


EARLY   TASKS    ON   THE    FARM     15 

there.  He  replied,  "A  young  man  can  get  through 
on  fifteen  hundred  dollars  a  year,  if  he  is  prudent, 
and  economical. "  Said  I,  "How  much  does  it  cost 
you?"  "Five  thousand  dollars  a  year,  but  one  is 
not  obliged  to  spend  that  much."  Later,  I  met 
another  student,  also  a  Junior.  He  was  equally 
courteous,  and  had  the  bearing  of  a  man  of  good 
breeding.  I  asked  what  it  cost  him  to  attend 
Princeton.  He  replied,  "Two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  a  year."  Expressing  surprise,  I  asked  how 
he  managed  to  get  through  on  so  little.  Said  he,  "I 
cannot  indulge  in  many  luxuries,  but  they  arc  not 
necessary."  If  those  two  young  men  meet  in  a  battle 
for  commercial  supremacy,  there  is  no  question  as  to 
who  will  win.  One  is  the  son  of  a  New  York  mil- 
lionaire, the  other  the  son  of  a  Pennsylvania  farmer. 

When  Senator  Piatt,  of  Connecticut,  was  asked 
what  they  produced  on  those  rocky  hills,  he  replied, 
"Manhood."  The  efforts  required  to  live  in  those 
ungenerous  surroundings,  the  necessity  to  make 
every  blow  tell,  and  to  exercise  every  inventive  fac- 
ulty, develop  powers  of  mind  and  habit,  which  have 
established  distinguished  names  among  the  New 
England  hills. 

Those  rocky  hills  on  the  old  farm,  that  seemed  so 
ungenerou>  to  Marshall  Field  and  A.  D.  Brown, 
were  among  their  best  friends.  They  were  great 
factors  in  ingrafting  into  those  lads  habits  of  indus- 
try and  economy  that  enabled  them  to  win,  when 
working  more  generous  fields. 

Rich,    tropica]    countries   that    are    prodigal    with 


,c        A    MAX    WITH   A    PURPOSE 

their  treasures,  yielding  their  wealth  to  man  without 
requiring  exertion  on  his  part,  arc  not  the  coun 
tries  that  produce  the  greatest  men.  Wealthy, 
indulgent  parents,  who  surround  their  sons  with  a 
tropical  atmosphere,  causing  them  to  grow  up  as 
hot-house  plants,  may  expect  them  to  fail  when 
they  meet  life's  endurance  tests  with  the  boy  who 
struggled  in  a  rugged  climate  on  a  rocky  farm. 


I  HE  OLD  HOMESTEAD,  AND  SCENES  ON  THE  STONY 
FARM.    (To  the  right)  KINCAID'S  STORK 
NORTH  GRANVILLE. 


CHAPTER  III. 

EARNS    HIS    FIRST    FIVE    DOLLARS. 

When  Alanson  was  in  his  tenth  year  he  earned 
his  first  five  dollars  by  picking  up  the  small  potatoes 
that  had  been  left  by  the  diggers.  He  loaned  the 
money  to  his  father  and  received  this  note: 

"S5.00      Granville, N.  Y.,  October  19,  1856. 

"One  day  after  date  I  promise  to  pay  Alanson  D. 
Brown  or  order  the  sum  of  Five  dollars  with 
use,  David  Brown." 

The  instinct  of  trade  was  too  strong  in  the  lad  for 
him  to  be  content  with  the  slow-increase  of  an  inter- 
est-bearing note.  He  traded  the  note  for  a  calf, 
which,  when  grown  to  a  cow,  he  traded  for  a  colt; 
which,  when  four  years  old,  he  sold  for  one  hundred 
and  twenty  five  dollars.  This  sum,  with  his  other 
savings,  amounting  in  all  to  three  hundred  dollars, 
he  Invested  in  fine  sheep.  When  taking  them  South, 
he  rode  through  the  streets  of  New  York  and  Cin 
(innati  on  the  express  wagon  with  his  sheep.  All 
his  wealth  was  invested  in  those  sheep  and  he  stayed 
close  to  them.  Sheep  were  the  angels  of  his  dreams, 
and  hi>  waking  vision  of  coming  fortune  wore  a  habit 
of  fleecy  wool,  and  was  fragrant  with    the  flavor  of 

mutton.    On  the  boat  from  Cincinnati  to  Paducah, 

he  spent  mosl  of  his   time  with   his  sheep.      He  w.i 


18        A    MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

greatly  shocked  by  the  indifference  of  the  travelers, 
who  danced  all  night,  although  a  passenger  died  with 
the  cholera.  The  stop  for  his  burial  had  no  effect 
on  the  young  people,  who  continued  their  revelry, 
indifferent  to  the  tragedy  of  a  soul  passing  into 
eternity. 

Leaving  the  steamer  at  Paducah  he  crossed  by 
rail  to  Union  City,  Tennessee,  where  he  took  the 
Mobile  and  Ohio  for  Columbus,  Mississippi.  Here 
the  first  disaster  to  his  fortune  occurred.  He  turned 
his  fine  sheep  into  the  pasture  of  a  relative  of  his 
uncle,  they  soon  broke  out  and  wandered  off.  The 
fortune  he  had  been  years  in  gathering  disappeared 
in  the  canebrakes  of  Mississippi,  and  he  had  noth- 
ing left  of  it  but  the  lessons  of  industry  and  thrift 
he  had  learned  in  its  accumulation,  and  the  need  of 
concentration  and  watchfulness  in  every  under- 
taking. Few  young  men  realize  the  value  of  re- 
verses as  muscle  givers,  and  perseverance  promoters, 
as  forces  that  give  birth  to  success  germs  in  their 
lives. 

Alanson  was  destined  to  be  a  merchant,  not  a 
shepherd. 


MOTHER   LIFTED  ME   BY    THE   EAR. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


CHOOSING    A    CAREER. 


The  parents  of  Alanson,  not  only  schooled  him  in 
habits  of  industry  and  economy,  but  implanted  in 
his  young  mind  principles  of  truth  and  virtue,  and  a 
reverence  for  things  religious.  One  Sunday  morn- 
ing, when  he  was  twelve,  his  mother  called  him  to 
get  ready  for  Sunday  school.  He  rebelled,  and  pro- 
tested against  going.  In  speaking  of  the  incident 
he  said,  "Mother  took  me  by  the  ear  and  lifted  me 
in  such  a  way  that  she  drove  the  devil  out,  and  I 
have  been  thankful  to  her  every  time  I  think  of  that 
morning." 

Professor  L.  R.  Mason,  his  teacher  in  both  the 
day  and  Sunday  school,  had  great  influence  with  the 
lad,  and  used  it  to  noble  purpose.  He  induced  him 
to  join  the  "Rand  of  Hope"  at  the  age  of  thirteen, 
he  took  this  vow:  "I  solemnly  pledge  myself  to 
abstain  from  the  use  of  intoxicating  drinks  as  a  bev- 
erage, and  the  use  of  tobacco  and  profanity."  This 
pledge  he  has  kept. 

Hi  attended  the  nearby  district  school  a  few 
month  c;ul)  winter  until  seventeen.  There  he 
acquired  a  fair  knowledge  of  the  "Three  R's." 
He  took  delight  in  manly  sports,  was  captain  of  the 

Slyboro  baseball  team  and    catcher  of  the  nine.     lie 

tg 


2o        A   MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

was  always  in  demand  when  there  was  a  match  game 
between  rival  teams  of  the  neighborhood. 

In  early  life  he  exercised  his  talent  as  a  merchant 
by  selling  apples  and  other  surplus  products  of  the 
farm  in  the  nearby  villages.  One  morning  a  pros- 
pective buyer  asked,  "Are  your  apples  sweet  or 
sour?"  "Just  a  pleasant  tart,  madam."  He  made 
the  sale. 

When  seventeen,  having  canvassed  with  his  parents 
the  question  of  preparing  himself  for  a  commercial 
life,  the  father  advised  him  to  stay  on  the  farm,  but 
left  the  decision  to  him.  The  mother  felt  that  her 
son  should  follow  the  bent  of  his  mind.  She  had 
visions  for  him  greater  than  could  be  realized  on  the 
farm.  She  encouraged  her  boy  to  push  out  into  the 
world.  Yet  the  youth  was  to  decide  for  himself. 
The  parents  of  Alanson  were  wise  in  placing  the 
responsibility  of  choosing  his  career  on  himself. 

Every  boy  is  called  to  some  work,  and  this  work 
is  indicated  by  the  bent  of  his  mind.  He  should 
obey  the  hand  that  beckons  him  on,  the  hand  that 
only  he  can  sec,  the  voice  that  is  audible  to  him  alone. 

"What  can  I  do  best?"  "  In  what  capacity  can  I 
best  serve  my  fellow- man  and  develop  my  highest 
and  best  powers?"  Individual  happiness  and  suc- 
cess depends  on  the  answer  the  young  man  makes  to 
this  question.  In  making  a  decision  as  to  what  his 
work  in  life  shall  be  a  man  should  heed  the  God- 
given  message  that  speaks  in  his  blood.  The 
natural  inclination  developed  by  encouragement  and 
education,  and  controlled  by  conscience  and  reason, 


CATCHER  OF  THE  SLYBORO  BASE  BALL  NINE.    Till 
OLD  SCIlool.  HOUSE   IN  THE  KHAR. 


CHOOSING    A    CAREER  21 

is  the  surest  guide  to  a  wise  choice.  One  should 
choose  a  career  for  which  he  has  an  aptitude,  one  in 
which  all  his  powers  find  quick  and  responsive 
expression.  Says  Edward  Bok,  "Every  man  is 
given  a  certain  thing  to  do  in  the  world,  and  he  alone, 
by  a  proper  study  of  himself  can  arrive  at  the  clear- 
est and  surest  knowledge  of  that  particular  object, 
and  his  truest  course  in  life  is  not  to  follow  the 
guidance  of  another,  but  his  own  instincts." 

A  few  days  after  Alanson's  conversation  with  his 
parents,  he  was  cutting  corn  in  the  field  with  the 
hired  man,  Jim  Hines.  About  nine  o'clock  in  the 
morning  he  said  to  the  hired  man,  "Jim,  I  want  you 
to  take  me  and  my  trunk  to  the  station."  This 
was  his  abrupt  decision  to  prepare  himself  for  a 
commercial  life.  He  had  determined  to  attend  the 
commercial  school  at  Rutland,  Vermont.  Although 
the  boys  laughed  at  his  brogan  boots,  he  gradu- 
ated with  the  first  honors  of  a  class  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty- five;  the  prize  was  a  copy  of  Camp- 
bell's poems. 

On  leaving  the  commercial  school  he  engaged  as 
clerk  for  J.  H.  Kincaid,  a  dealer  in  drugs  and  gro- 
ceries  at  Middle  Granville.  I  asked  Mr.  Kincaid 
why  he  engaged  Alanson  as  clerk.  Said  he,  "Be- 
cause  he  was  the  son  of  David  Brown."  "Was  he  a 
good  clerk?"  "There  never  was  a  better;  he  never 
left  anything  undone."  A  few  hundred  yards  in 
front  of  the  store  the  gnat  financier,  Jay  Gould,  had 
1  Ktensive  -late  quarries.  Young  Brown  was 
strongly  impres  ed  by  his  dose  attention  to  details, 


A   MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

and  his  thoughtful  demeanor  as  he  walked  daily  by 
the  store. 

Alanson  eontinued  in  the  employ  of  Mr.  Kincaid 
at  wages  of  seventeen  dollars  per  month  until  his 
uncle,  Charles  Brown,  a  general  merchant  of  Col- 
umbus, Mississippi,  who,  visiting  his  brother,  the 
father  of  the  young  man,  observed  his  nephew's 
diligent  and  methodical  attention  to  business,  and, 
feeling  it  would  be  to  their  mutual  advantage,  pre- 
vailed on  Alanson  to  go  with  him  to  the  Sunny  South. 

At  the  age  of  nineteen  young  Brown  left  all  with 
which  he  had  been  associated  in  childhood  and 
youth,  and  launched  out  into  the  world,  burning  the 
bridges  behind  him,  so  far  as  business  relations  and 
dependence  on  others  was  concerned.  Yet  the  ten- 
der ties  of  kindred  blood  and  friendship  were  not 
severed,  and  they  ever  helped  to  sustain  him  in  his 
high  purpose  to  live  a  noble  life,  the  principles  of 
which,  truth,  industry  and  frugality  were  indelibly 
stamped  on  his  mind. 


CHAPTER  V. 

ANSWER   TO   MOTHER'S    FIRST   LETTER. 

How  far  young  Brown  had  advanced  in  getting  a 
correct  view  of  life  is  shown  in  the  following  letter 
written  to  his  mother  soon  after  his  arrival  in  Mis- 
sissippi. This  letter,  written  by  a  young  man  of 
nineteen,  is  prophetic,  a  forecast  of  everything  he 
became  in  after  life.  His  every  purpose  is  found 
in  germ  here.     It  strikes  the  key-note  of  his  career. 

This  letter  reveals  young  Brown  and  the  secret  of 
his  success.  He  says  to  his  anxious  mother  who  fears 
for  his  health  and  has  written  him  to  come  home: 
"Do  not  be  uneasy  about  me.  Trust  as  sure  as 
there  is  a  God  I  will  keep  my  road  straight."  Here 
is  a  motto  worthy  a  Spartan.  This  motto,  "I  will 
keep  my  road  straight,"  reveals  his  life  purpose  and 
plan.  He  virtually  says  to  his  mother,  "I  am  deter- 
mined to  make  myself  a  man,  succeeding  in  that,  I 
shall  succeed  in  all  else." 

"Heard  a  good  sermon  yesterday,  have  deter- 
mined to  read  a  chapter  in  my  Bible  each  morning 
on  rising  from  my  bed,  shall  read  good  books, 
shall  deny  myself  everything  that  will  or  might 
impair  my  health.  When  you  shed  tears  over  me 
they  shall  be  tears  of  joy."  The  reading  of  this 
letter  gave  hi--  anxious  mother  a  joy  thai  was  a  fore 

»3 


24         A    MAX    WITH   A    PURPOSE 

taste  of  heaven.  It  was  a  picture  of  her  boy's  heart, 
a  revelation  of  his  devotion  and  lofty  ideals.  Do  we 
wonder  that  she  treasured  it  the  remainder  of  her 
life,  nearly  forty  years?  In  the  language  of  Young, 
he  practically  said,   "Mother,   I   will 

"Open  my  bosom  and  set  my  wishes  wide, 
And  let  in  manhood,  let  in  happiness, 
Admit  the  boundless  theater  of  thought 
From  nothing  up  to  God." 

He  read  in  the  Holy  Book,  "Blessed  is  the  man 
whose  delight  is  in  the  law  of  the  Lord  —  whatsoever 
he  doeth  shall  prosper."  Said  he,  Mother,  "I  will 
seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteous- 
ness, and  rest  on  His  promise  that  all  other  things 
will  be  added  unto  me."  On  his  first  Sabbath  in  the 
South  he  made  his  way  alone  across  the  town  to 
church  and  entered  the  Sunday  school,  a  stranger  in 
a  strange  land.  He  gave  his  name  to  the  superin- 
tendent, and  said  to  him,  "You  can  depend  on  me 
to  be  here  every  Sunday  morning."  He  listened 
intently  to  the  morning  sermon,  which  led  him  to 
make  the  resolve  "I  will  read  the  Book  of  Books 
daily."  Is  it  any  wonder  that  this  young  man  should 
within  three  years  have  charge  of  the  largest  business 
in  the  town,  and  receive  one-half  of  the  profits  with- 
out investing  one  dollar  of  cash  in  the  enterprise? 


flcu  MMM,/  Jr-twi,      lltfp/h    j&^&h.        JldluL tfk£- sfJ-Ua* 
pijjjny*      (Utn     >l#4-  j^-*&£~-   arty  /fan&  /Hv9~  /^JeJLne^ 


^~   /^    /from     sWr-  fijtuc/L  V'Hs-  "  ^^tz.  (fv>~  M^^  H^ 
JWHiK,   fP/jla^   (pu^*   dhM-c,       llmsLc  ^c^K   J^f-  /out  to*-/ 
)r$>    frao   7vt4^  <2Vl~  y<n^?~  dh  <f(J-~     /2«A^4>  oJLl 

'       St    Oskffi     fcrj' {fa-nub^t-    «%>    fc    (Unit    Wm~1_ 

Ghm.a     />' >  //'  -  ,i  ■.   ■■:■>■■  ,    f—     //<-""  '/,/•      -' 

Virion      j/a^/fy     s°Tf4.      ('h<f"i.       „t       lfi>     /'.('•      ;"ji</si<, 


tO    ISA 


<\"r^i",0<~<       fit      ,////,.  >/AV.  V     TtiAriC^e.     *x>      A^LjCrrvC'  jMk- 

y™p(      (  J'"      V'O"     /haft \<J^LieL    f-tm*.   (^ryu^u^ 

y«o    fi.'l\jL-c[_      cZt«A*    4trr~  'j»U^      fofcy     /fay    /fc 

{h*t    yioJ^Syi/^it      L   /LeM^r     /£uavH^>.*      %/^Li^<pfw 
flu*    /f "  ^W/         Uli^Jfa-  si*    %i//~  cu>    U/aWM    oJ-Juuxjl. 

Jiw     %&&c{_    &L   /a^-u*a      A^uw-    TunAi        lylv^K  /frv 
(X     M^U^r    Lb   M<>~<Jr    >i     UrUftiuUnil/        /^ta^_ 

<r~  /  /        ■//  ^ 

CUn     QAvOutyJ      <2<>  om^uAj^L      Aw**     ytl-a*;    ?Uw)      Jfa- 

/llawvL>  lAriik  JCwy.      }fty.  (U^Z/fir  ^  J^Tr-vC  w</LL 
7Jj~  <?        &/        tin  fff  * 

t     )LM~    fhry-yd-    yyU.  /     ,vfeu4~    (aJh// <yjLu^i 


'ZJfiA 


CHAPTER  VI. 

BAPTIZED    IN    TOM    BIGBEE    RIVEE. 

Soon  after  young  Brown  went  to  Columbus  he 
changed  his  boarding  place  from  the  home  of  his 
uncle  to  the  Gilmer  Hotel.  He  won  the  friendship 
of  the  proprietor, Major  A.  W.  King,  and  with  it  his 
trade.  His  first  sale  to  the  Major  was  a  case  of  the 
then  famous  "John  J.  Roe  hams." 

He  slept  over  the  store  with  one  of  the  clerks, 
W.  H.  Carroll.  The  close  association  resulted  in  a 
warm  and  lasting  friendship.  Young  Brown  had 
been  reared  a  Baptist,  but  did  not  unite  with  the 
church  until  he  went  to  Columbus.  He  and  his 
friend  Carroll  were  baptized  at  the  same  time  in  the 
Tom  Bigbee  River  by  the  Reverend  J.  H.  Cason,  a 
minister  who  had  lost  an  arm  when  chaplain  in  the 
ranks  of  those  who  wore  the  gray. 

Young  Brown  attended  regularly  all  the  services 
of  the  church, and  contributed  liberally  to  its  support. 
In  business  he  was  attentive  and  diligent,  and  within 
one  year  the  management  of  the  Store  was  largely  in 
his  hands.  His  uncle  formed  a  partnership  with 
Mr.  Sherrod,  the  firm's  name  being  "Brown  & 
Sherrod."  They  did  a  large  credit  business,  and 
were  losing  money.  The  uncle  bought  out  Mr. 
Sherrod,  and  took  in  Alanson  as  partner,  the  firm 


26        A    MAX   WITH  A    PURPOSE 

being   changed    to    "C.    W.   &    A.    D.    Brown." 

They  adopted  the  cash  system.  The  business  was 
in  charge  of  young  Brown,  the  uncle  spending  most 
of  the  time  on  his  plantation.  Young  Brown's  share 
of  the  profits  the  first  year  was  $6,000.  His  uncle 
determined  to  go  to  Texas  and  disposed  of  his  interest 
in  the  business  to  John  M.  Morgan  and  J.  H.  Estes; 
the  name  was  changed  to  "  Morgan,  Brown  &  Estes." 
Separation  did  not  sever  the  ties  that  bound  Alan- 
son  to  his  father,  mother,  brothers,  and  sisters.  This 
is  shown  by  the  following  extracts  from  a  letter  writ- 
ten to  his  parents. 

Dkar  Parents:— 

Sorry  to  hear  mother  is  in  trouble  with  neuralgia.  Hope 
you  have  gone  to  Saratoga  and  received  much  benefit  and 
pleasure  from  the  trip.  Am  pleased  to  hear  from  brother 
George  that  he  has  a  strong  desire  to  attend  Sunday  school. 
Have  been  to  church  and  Sunday  school  to-day,  where  have 
listened  with  ardent  desire  that  I  might  receive  information 
that  will  prove  of  assistance  to  me  through  the  paths  of  life. 
I  trust,  dear  brother  and  sister,  though  we  are  separated,  the 
instruction  we  seek  for  through  the  Sabbath  school  may 
prove  effectually  the  same.  Wish  you  would  have  Thomas 
Noonan  make  me  a  nice  pair  of  calf  sewed  shoes,  measure 
same  as  before,  and  send  by  Uncle  Charles.  You  will  charge 
to  my  account.  A  nice  pair  of  sewed  shoes  cost  $10.00,  made 
here. 

Will  send  you  weekly  paper,  which  will  give  you  better 
description  of  the  prospects  of  the  country  than  I  can  write. 
Have  no  fears  in  regard  to  my  health,  which  trust  will  con- 
tinue good.  Business  is  pretty  good;  still  selling  much  corn 
Si. 60  bushel, wheat  S2.10;  flour  $8  and  $9,  and  meal  $1.60. 
Sold  car  of  corn  yesterday  and  had  many  applications  could 
not  supply.     We  have  one  clerk  in  Kentucky  buying  corn, 


II M,  I   WANT  Vol.   TO  TAKE   ME  AND  MY  TRUNK  TO 

[  HI.  STATION. 


BAPTIZED  IN  TOM  BIGBEE  RIVER 


7 


meal,  and  flour.     Watermelons  are  plenty.    There  are  many 
figs  that  will  soon  be  ripe.     Love  to  Grandpa  and  Grandma. 
Your  affectionate  son, 

Alanson  D.  Brown. 

In  187 1  young  Brown  and  his  pastor,  Rev.  J.  H. 
Cason,  were  delegates  to  the  Southern  Baptist  Con- 
vention which  met  in  the  Third  Baptist  Church,  St. 
Louis.  He  brought  a  letter  of  introduction  from 
Miss  Katie  Teasdale,  of  Columbus,  to  her  cousin 
W.  C.  Teasdale,  and  was  the  guest  of  Mr.  Teasdale 
during  the  session  of  the  convention.  A  friendship 
was  formed  between  them  which  has  continued. 
Two  of  Mr.  Teasdale's  sons  are  now  associated  with 
Mr.  Brown  in  business,  and  have  made  fortunes 
through  their  connection  with  him. 

The  attendance  of  young  Brown, as  delegate  to  the 
Southern  Baptist  Convention  in  St.  Louis,  was  an 
epoch  in  his  life.  He  was  so  impressed  with  the  city, 
its  people,  and  geographical  location  as  a  distribut- 
ing center,  that  he  formed  the  purpose  of  locating 
here.  He  disposed  of  his  interests  in  Mississippi 
to  Mr.  Morgan,  one  of  his  partners,  and  came  to 
St.  Louis  in  January  1872,  at  the  age  of  twenty 
four,  with  New  York  exchange  for  $13,000  in  his 
pocket. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

NO   SUCH    WORD   AS    FAIL. 

When  young  Brown  came  to  St.  Louis  he  stopped 
at  the  old  Barnum  Hotel,  corner  Second  and  Walnut 
streets.  He  deposited  his  money  in  the  Merchants 
Bank,  of  which  James  E.  Yeatman  was  president. 
Not  wishing  that  his  funds  should  remain  idle  while 
prospecting  for  business,  he  loaned  $10,000  to 
McLaren,  Williams  &  Co.,  after  consulting  President 
Yeatman,  who  said  it  was  all  right. 

Having  made  the  acquaintance  of  Silas  P.  Jones, 
William  M.  Senter  and  David  W.  Guernsey,  young 
Brown  joined  the  Third  Baptist  Church,  of  which 
they  were  members.  To  this  church  circle  of  per- 
sonal friends  was  added  Frank  Ely,  and  there  was 
no  break  in  the  ties  of  friendship  and  church  asso- 
ciation of  the  five  congenial  spirits  till  the  chords 
were  severed  by  the  grim  reaper. 

After  uniting  with  the  church  young  Brown  iden- 
tified himself  with  its  activities,  became  a  teacher  in 
the  Sunday  school,  and  has  continued  to  be  a  regular 
attendant  of  the  service,  including  the  mid-week 
prayer  meeting. 

Looking  over  the  field  with  the  view  of  engaging 
in  the  wholesale  grocer)'  business,  and  having  found  no 
satisfactory  opening,  he  was  speaking  on  the  subject 

28 


MR.  BROWN  AT    IH I    AGE  OF  19. 


NO  SUCH    WORD    AS    FAIL        29 

to  Frank  Ely,  who  was  also  stopping  at  the  Barnum. 
Said  Ely,  "  Go  into  the  wholesale  shoe  business,  with 
Jim  Hamilton,  and  sell  for  cash."  Brown  had  met 
Hamilton  and  was  favorably  impressed.  He  called 
where  Hamilton  was  opening  a  stock  of  boots  and 
shoes  at  106  Locust  street,  and  proposed  to  look  over 
the  books  and  assist  in  the  business  for  ten  days;  if 
satisfied  with  the  business  and  they  were  pleased  with 
each  other  they  would  form  a  partnership.  Mutual 
respect  and  esteem  were  the  result  of  the  associa- 
tion, and  March  11,  1872  Brown  drew  up  a  con- 
tract of  partnership.  Hamilton  put  $10,000  and  he 
813,000  into  the  firm. 

Brown  took  his  note  against  McLaren,  Williams 
&  Co.,  to  the  Merchants  Bank  to  discount.  President 
Yeatman  refused,  stating,  "they  were  not  in  line." 
Brown  took  the  note  back  again  in  a  few  days  and 
received  the  same  reply.  Attending  to  the  banking 
for  Hamilton,  he  took  this  note  to  the  Commercial 
Bank,  where  Hamilton  kept  his  account,  and  showed 
it  to  the  president,  J.  A.  Addington,  who  looking  him 
in  the  face,  said,  "How  did  you  get  that  note?" 
Brown  answered,  "I  loaned  them  the  money."  "We 
u  ill  discount  it  at  eight  per  cent."  He  sold  the  note 
and  placed  the  proceeds  to  the  credit  of  Hamilton  & 
Brown,  who,  as  a  resull  of  the  favor,  did  their  bu^i 
i H    -  with  the  Commercial  Bank  for  fifteen  years. 

The  store  of  the  young  firm  was  twenty  five  by 
forty  feet,  they  occupied  two  floors  and  a  basement. 
The  first  year  they  employed  four  salesmen  and  did 
a  business  of  $225,000.    All  the  hauling  was  done  on 


3o        A   MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

a  two-wheeled  dray  drawn  by  one  mule,  driven  by  its 
owner,  James  Britton,  who  continued  as  drayman 
of  the  firm  till  his  death,  twenty-nine  years,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  son. 

Shortly  after  starting  in  business  the  young  firm 
began  to  feel  the  rumbling  of  the  financial  earth- 
quake that  preceded  the  panic  of  1873.  The  cash 
of  the  country  merchant  grew  scarce  and  his  pros- 
pects ominous.  In  May,  some  two  months  after 
their  opening,  Hamilton  returned  early  one  morning 
from  a  trip  to  Sedalia.  He  was  tired,  dirty,  and  dis- 
couraged. After  eating  his  breakfast  at  the  Barnum, 
he  said  to  Brown,  "I  guess  we  shall  have  to  give  it 
up."  Brown  answered,  "We  will  never  give  up  so 
long  as  our  bodies  are  outside  of  Bellefontaine  Cem- 
etery. Never  say  that  again  to  me."  A  few  days 
later,  an  acquaintance  of  Hamilton  from  Tennessee 
said,  "Brown,  I  am  sorry  you  went  in  with  Ham- 
ilton, I  am  afraid  you  will  lose  all  you  have."  Brown 
replied,  "Sir,  I  do  not  thank  you  for  your  advice 
or  sympathy.  Hamilton  &  Brown  will  succeed  as 
sure  as  the  sun  will  rise  to-morrow  morning." 

In  the  dictionary  of  young  Brown  there  was  no 
such  word  as  jail.  Both  he  and  Hamilton  were 
great  workers  and  anxious  to  succeed,  but  Brown, 
with  his  fine  physique,  perfect  health,  and  the  stim- 
ulant of  his  successful  experience  in  the  South,  was 
possessed  with  such  advantages,  that  he  became  at 
once  the  great  asset  of  the  firm. 

Charles  Sumner  said,  "Three  things  are  necessary 
to     success.     First,    backbone;   second,   backbone; 


NO    SUCH   WORD    AS   FAIL        31 

third,  backbone."  Backbone  without  brains  is 
worth  more  than  brains  without  backbone.  Young 
Brown  possessed  the  backbone,  and  when  his  part- 
ner, less  strong  in  body,  felt  discouraged  and  in- 
clined to  give  up  the  ship,  he  shared  with  him  his 
surplus  buoyancy  and  enthusiasm.  The  satisfactory 
result  of  this  experience  with  his  first  partner  led  him, 
in  after-associations,  to  throw  his  surplus  strength  to 
the  weakest  link  of  the  chain  that  binds  his  great 
interests  together. 

Emerson  says,  "The  chief  want  in  life  is  some  one 
who  shall  make  us  do  the  best  we  can."  Uncon- 
sciously, Mr.  Brown  supplies  that  want  to  many 
who  are  associated  with  him. 

In  advancing  his  life  purpose,  backbone  and  good 
health  were  not  the  only  assets  in  the  personality  of 
young  Brown.  His  greater  assets  were  his  well- 
grounded  habits  of  industry  and  thrift,  his  exalted 
character,  and  lovaltv  to  himself  and  to  his  God. 

He  soon  had  other  tests  of  his  grit.  It  requires 
courage  to  introduce  radical  changes  in  long  estab- 
lished customs  of  business.  There  is  a  marked 
difference  in  the  system  of  conducting  the  shoe 
business  in  1872  and  1906.  In  [872  the  custom  was 
long  time  payments,  and  variable  prices,  and  shoddy 
goods  were  not  uncommon.  Hamilton  &:  Brown 
brooked  the  contumely  of  the  rich  and  powerful 
firms  who,  fixed  in  their  long  established  business 
customs,  resented  the  innovations  these  young  men 
had  the  temerity  to  introduce  into  tins  field  of  com 
mcrcc.    They  boldly  hoisted  their  flag  on  which  was 


32        A    MAX    WITH   A    PURPOSE 

inscribed,  "Good  shoes,  Prompt  shipments,  Cash 
payments,"  and  they  never  swerved  in  loyalty  to 
this  banner  and  every  motto  it  unfurled. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

A   PANIC   IN   HONEY    AND   HEARTS. 

The  panic  of  1873  tested  the  mettle  of 
Brown  and  the  foundations  on  which  he  was  build- 
ing. The  shoe  men  of  St.  Louis  met  at  the  Southern 
Hotel,  and  the  feeling  of  the  meeting  was  that  they 
should  ask  a  general  extension  of  their  Eastern  cred- 
itors. Brown,  who  looked  after  the  finances  of  the 
firm,  had  no  favors  to  ask.  Hon.  W.  B.  Rice,  of 
Rice  &  Hulchins,  Boston,  says,  "I  was  greatly  im- 
pressed with  the  fact  that  during  the  panic  of  1873, 
hardly  a  day  passed  that  did  not  bring  us  a  remit- 
tance from  Hamilton  &  Brown,  and  an  order  for 
shoes." 

That  year  of  financial  stress  was  a  valuable  lesson 
to  young  Brown.  When  he  saw  the  great  structures 
of  the  commercial  world,  whose  collossal  splendors 
towered  so  far  above-  his,  trembling  in  the  gale  of  the 
raging"  financial  storm,  and,  in  some  cases,  fall  with 
terrible  disaster,  he  realized  with  a  new  appreciation, 
that  the  vital  principle  of  selling  for  cash  was  the 
foundation  rock  that  held  his  structure  firm. 

That   year  opened   the  eyes  of  the   Eastern  shoe 

manufacturers  to  the  fad  that  A.  I).  Brown  must 

!"•  reckoned  with  in  utilizing  St.  Louis  a- an  outlet 
for  their  produ<  I  .     Ili~  a.  livity  and  COnstanl  receipt 

3  3 


34        A    MAX    WITH   A   PURPOSE 

of  fresh  goods,  when  his  competitors  were  seeking 
shelter  from  the  financial  storm,  drew  to  him  cash 
buyers,  many  of  whom  are  still  his  customers. 

The  largely  increased  business  of  the  young  shoe 
firm,  notwithstanding  the  financial  distress,  de 
manded  larger  quarters,  and  with  characteristic 
promptness  they  secured  411  North  Main  street,  with 
three  floors  and  basement,  twenty-five  by  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  feet.  In  1876  the  business  had 
grown  to  such  proportions  that  a  larger  store  was 
required.  The  four-story  building,  corner  Main 
and  Washington,  was  secured. 

Mr.  Brown, who  had  been  strong  enough  to  open 
the  door  of  opportunity  for  himself,  now  began  to 
open  it  for  others,  admitting  into  partnership  Eugene 
F.  Williams,  who  had  been  a  successful  salesman  on 
the  road  since  '72,  and  W.  H.  Carroll,  his  associate 
and  bed-fellow  in  Mississippi,  who  had  been  sales- 
man for  him  since  '73.  Since  that  time  Mr.  Brown 
has  not  only  continued  to  open  the  door  of  oppor- 
tunity to  young  men,  but  urged  them  to  enter,  and 
given  them  not  only  his  counsel,  but  the  tremendous 
force  of  his  example  to  help  them  win  success. 

The  men  employed  by  Mr.  Brown  must  prove 
themselves  worthy  before  they  are  admitted  into  the 
closer  relation  of  business  associates.  To  a  young 
man,  one  of  his  traveling  salesmen,  who  had  the 
same  opportunity  as  Williams  and  Carroll,  he  said, 
"Why  are  you  not  selling  more  goods?"  The  sales- 
man answered,  "I  am  building  up  trade."  Said  Mr 
Brown,  "That  is  not  our  way  of  building  up  business, 


WE  WILL   NEVER  GIVE  UP. 


PANIC  IN  MONEY  AND  HEARTS     35 

we  want  it  built  up  with  trade,  we  want  results." 
Soon  after  he  began  business  with  Hamilton,  he 
found  the  porter,  a  German  named  Herman,  one  day 
at  the  noon  hour,  lying  on  a  case  of  shoes  drunk,  and 
said  to  him,  "  Herman,  come  into  the  office  and  861116.'" 
Mr.  Brown  carried  the  keys,  swept  out  the  store,  and 
turned  out  the  goods  until  another  porter  was  secured. 
In  after  years,  with  increased  experience  and  a 
broader  view  of  life,  he  never  discharged  an  employee 
until  he  had  exhausted  every  means  within  his  power 
to  eliminate  the  weakness  and  help  the  unfortunate 
one  with  counsel  and  encouragement  to  fill  the  place. 

1873  xvas  a  ycar  °f  special  interest  to  young 
Brown.  While  in  Boston,  buying  shoes,  he  went  with 
young  Hawley,  a  salesmen  for  Stowe,  Bills  &  Whit- 
ney, to  Waltham,  some  ten  miles  distant.  Going  to 
the  Baptist  church,  he  met  Miss  Ella  Bills,  then  sweet 
sixteen.  Her  liberal  contribution,  when  the  box  was 
passed,  completed  the  conquest  of  his  heart  by  Miss 
Bills.  He  was  not  so  fortunate  in  getting  hers  in 
return, and  only  succeeded  after  a  siege  of  four  years. 

In  1877  he  entered  into  a  new  partnership,  the 
capital  stock  was  love;  the  purpose,  the  elevating 
and  sustaining  joys  of  a  home.  After  stopping  a 
few  month-,  at  the  Planters  Hotel  they  rented  2215 
Market  St  net,  paying  thirty  -five  dollars  per  month. 
Here,  in  a  modest  six  room  house,  they  experienced 
their  firs!  joys  of  housekeeping.  Here  young  Brown 
felt  the  thoughl  expressed  by  Byron: 

I         treettO  know  there  13 an  rye  will  mark 
<  »ur  c  oming,  ;m<l  look  brighter  when  we  <  onae," 


36         A    MAX    WITH    A    PURPOSE 

This  first  home,  hallowed  by  the  birth  of  their  eldest 
daughter,  Estelle,  and  the  memories  that  cluster  in 
the  recollections  of  two  happy  years,  makes  them 
feel  with  Cowper: 

"This  fond  attachment  for  the  well-known  place 
Where  first  we  started  into  life's  long  race, 
Maintains  its  hold  with  such  unfailing  sway, 
We  feel  il  e'en  in  age  and  at  our  latest  day." 

In  1879  Mr.  Brown  purchased  a  lot,  31 10  Pine 
Street  and  built  a  home.  Here,  Jane,  Alanson,  Jr., 
Helene,  Vesta,  and  Ruth  were  born.  In  1894  the 
palatial  home  4616  Lindell  Boulevard  was  com- 
pleted, and  to  it  the  family  removed,  the  circle 
unbroken. 

Charles  C.  Bills,  wholesale  shoe  manufacturer,  of 
Boston,  the  father  of  Miss  Ella,  had  occasion  to 
visit  St.  Louis  in  1873  to  1°°^  after  a  large  indebted- 
ness to  his  firm.  Among  the  claims  was  a  bill  of 
$3,300  against  his  future  son-in-law,  who  paid  him 
one-half  cash  and  gave  a  note  for  the  balance,  none 
of  the  bill  being  due.  A  few  days  later,  seeing  their 
note  in  the  list  of  a  Boston  broker,  they  Hamilton  & 
Brown  wired,  "We  will  take  up  our  note,"  and  sent 
the  money  at  once. 

In  1879,  within  seven  years,  under  the  organizing 
and  directing  genius  of  Mr.  Brown,  the  annual  sales 
had  grown  from  8225,000  to  $1,500,000.  This 
increase  necessitated  larger  quarters.  In  the  spring 
of  1880  the  firm  removed  to  the  six-story  building, 
corner  Broadway  and  Washington  Avenue. 

In  1883  the  firm  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock 


PANIC  IN  MONEY  AND  HEARTS     37 

of  $400,000,  and  began  to  manufacture  shoes  on  the 
upper  floors  of  the  building,  corner  of  Tenth  and 
Washington  Avenue.  To  the  lower  floors  of  this 
building  the  rapidly  expanding  business  was  removed 
January  1,  1884. 

The  year  1883  marked  an  epoch  in  the  history  of 
A.  D.  Brown.  The  adding  of  manufacturing  to  his 
large  commercial  interests,  together  with  his  incor- 
porating, gave  full  sway  to  his  genius  as  a  merchant 
and  marvelous  power  as  an  organizer  and  leader  of 
men.  His  tremendous  capacity  for  detail,  and 
grasp  of  the  business,  kept  pace  with  its  expan- 
sion. The  knowledge  of  shoes  and  their  mer- 
chandising which  his  observing  and  inquiring 
mind  had  accumulated,  was  always  at  hand.  It  is 
said  of  Webster  that,  "When  aroused,  all  that  he 
knew  was  in  reach."  In  this  respect  Mr.  Brown 
is  very  much  like  Webster.  He  has  the  faculty  of 
bringing  into  use  all  the  knowledge  he  has 
acquired  of  the  business,  even  to  the  minutest  de- 
tail. A  shoe  manufacturer  of  Boston,  speaking  of 
him,  said,  "When  buying  even  a  few  cases  of 
-li ppers,  all  his  knowledge  of  shoes  is  at  hand  and 
he    uses  it  in  making  ihe  purchase." 

Webster  swayed  men  with  the  power  of  his  elo 
quence,  Mr.  Brown  sways  them  with  the  force  of  his 
example.  Men  arc  not  so  much  moved  by  what 
he  says,  but  they  cannot  resist  the  influence  of  what 
he  is.  Man's  influence  proceeds  out  of  him,  and  in 
the  long  run  is  jusl  the  out-going  of  his  inner  life. 
He  may  give  good    advice,  and  at  times  be  worked 


l8        A    MAX   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

up  to  be  good  himself,  but  his  influence  comes 
from  his  whole  life,  and  not  the  better  part  of  it. 
It  is  the  whole  life  of  Mr.  Brown  which  so  clearly 
-bines  through  his  simple,  transparent  honesty,  and 
not  any  one  meteoric  faculty  of  genius  that  influ- 
ences men. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

MAXIMS    AND    MOTTOES. 

I  met  one  of  Mr.  Brown's  business  associates  who 
had  been  with  him  many  years  and  requested  him 
to  tell  me  what  he  knew  of  Brown.  Said  he,  "  I 
have  an  engagement  just  now,  but  will  gladly  see 
you  another  time."  Several  days  later  he  handed 
me  a  card  saying,  "  Mr.  Brown  is  the  living  em- 
bodiment of  everything  you  see  on  that  card."  It 
was  a  copy  of  a  curd  which  hung  on  the  walls  of  the 
bank  of  the  elder  Rothschild. 

'  Carefully  examine  every  detail  of  your  busi- 
ness. Be  prompt  in  everything.  Take  time  to 
consider,  then  decide  quickly.  Dare  to  go  forward. 
Bear  your  troubles  patiently.  Be  brave  in  the  strug- 
gle of  life.  Maintain  your  integrity  as  a  sacred 
thing.  Never  tell  business  lies.  Make  no  useless 
;i<  quaintances.  Never  try  to  appear  something  more 
than  you  are.  Pay  your  debts  promptly.  Learn 
how  to  risk  your  money  at  the  right  moment.  Shun 
strong  liquor.  Employ  your  time  well.  Do  not 
reckon  upon  chance.  Be  polite  to  everybody.  Never 
Ik-  discouraged.     Then  work  hard  and  you  will  suc- 

!.  " 

Mr.  Brown  had  found  this  card  in  the  office  of  a 
Boston  manufacturer,  and  was  so  impressed  with 

39 


4o        A   MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

its  truth  that  he  had  several  thousand  printed  and 
sent  one  to  each  of  his  customers.  When  he  finds 
a  motto  which  contains  the  philosophy  of  life 
packed  into  a  sentence,  he  wants  his  associates  to 
see  it  and  incorporate  it  into  their  lives. 

A  good  motto  is  the  fruit  of  rich  experience, 
and  often  compresses  the  history  of  a  life  into  a 
phrase.  There  is  greater  power  in  a  truth  when 
compressed  till  it  is  on  fire.  Mr.  Brown  takes 
hold  of  the  proverbs  of  concentrated  wisdom  with 
such  firm  grasp  that  he  makes  them  a  part  of  his  life, 
and  strives  to  instill  them  into  the  lives  of  others. 

A  motto  helps  a  man  as  a  target  does  the  skill  of 
the  marksman.  It  gives  his  life  a  purpose  and  plan. 
It  becomes  a  star  by  which  he  steers  his  course.  It 
may  express  but  one  phase  of  life's  meaning,  but  it 
leads  to  others.  It  fixes  the  ideal  in  the  memory 
and  spurs  the  laggard  mind  to  duty. 

A  good  motto  may  touch  only  industry,  or  honesty, 
or  purity,  or  time,  but  in  opening  the  door  to  one  it 
leads  to  all.  True,  in  the  fullest  sense,  to  one  worthy 
motto,  you  are  true  to  all,  for  truth  is  one.  To 
know  the  value  of  time  is  to  know  eternity.  "  To 
know  the  full  meaning  of  honesty  is  to  know  both 
God  and  man." 

The  trend  of  a  life  is  due  largely  to  the  sugges- 
tions that  find  lodgement  in  the  soul,  and  when  a 
great  truth  is  so  condensed  into  burning  words  as  to 
strike  the  mind  as  a  flash  of  flame  does  the  eye  on  a 
dark  night,  it  finds  lodgement. 

Most  men  of  achievement  have  had  mottoes  and 


MAXIMS  AND   MOTTOES         41 

testify  that  they  have  been  greatly  helped  by  them. 
The  merchant  prince,  John  Wanamaker,  has  long 
had  for  his  motto,  "  Do  the  next  thing,"  and  to  this 
Mr.  Brown  has  added  that  of  Horace  Greeley, 
"  Do  it  now."  He  is  a  living  sentence  of  General 
Neal  Dow's  motto,  "  Deeds,  not  words." 

At  the  great  store,  which  is  the  nerve  center  of  his 
large  business,  trite  sentences,  many  of  which  con- 
tain the  boiled  down  experience  of  a  life,  meet  the  eye. 
Every  publication  in  the  way  of  a  catalogue  or  souve- 
nir of  a  special  occasion  carries,  in  a  conspicuous 
place,  an  arrow  of  truth  so  tipped  and  winged  that 
it  strikes  the  bull's-eye  at  a  single  shot.  "  All  at  it, 
always  at  it,  brings  success,"  "  Keep  the  quality 
up,"  "  Plan  your  work  thoroughly,  then  thoroughly 
work  your  plan,"  "  Step  lively,  no  slow  steppers 
here,"     "  Concentration,"    are  among  the  number. 

Mr.  Brown  has  saturated  himself  with  maxims  of 
the  Scriptures  whith  apply  to  all  phases  of  life  so 
thoroughly  that  they  seem  a  part  of  his  nature.  He 
lives  the  admonition  "  Diligent  in  business,  fervent 
in  spirit,  serving  the  Lord." 

"  Enthusiasm  is  a  great  staple  with  u>,"  is  one 
of  the  couplets  that  meets  the  eve  when  walking 
through  the  Store.  Mr.  Brown  understands  the 
value  of  enthusiasm  which  is  essential,  not  only  in 
the  construction  of  chara<  ter,  but  in  building  up 
any  great  enterprise.  It  is  one  of  the  main  factors 
in  all  action  stimulating  others  to  do.  It  gives  per 
sistency  to  the  unstable,  strength  to  the  feeble, 
ability  and   >kill  to  the  inefficient,  and  success  to 


42  A    MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

endeavor.     There    is    a   might  in  enthusiasm  that 
is  magical  to  the  vacillating  and  irresolute. 

This  is  an  age  when  enthusiasm  needs  to  be 
cultivated;  not  excitement,  nor  fanaticism,  but 
earnestness,  in  which  far-seeing  wisdom  combined 
with  the  vitalizing  glow  of  ardent  feeling,  stimu- 
lates to  right  action. 

In  Mr.  Brown,  enthusiasm  is  a  regulated  force 
of  heart  and  head  combined;  eagerness  and  fore- 
sight prosecuting  a  purpose.  His  enthusiasm  does 
not  blind  him  to  difficulties,  but  braves  his  heart  to 
meet  them.  His  prudence  is  not  dethroned  by  his 
enthusiasm,  but  measures  the  dangers  and  recog- 
nizes the  chance  of  failure,  yet  the  balance-wheel  of 
prudence  is  swayed  by  duty's  call,  and  enthusiasm 
comes  to  the  rescue  with  a  fire  and  zeal  that  wins. 

Emerson  says,  "  Every  great  and  commanding 
movement  in  the  annals  of  the  world  is  the  triumph 
of  some  enthusiasm."  Lord  Lytton  says,  "  It  is 
the  genius  of  sincerity,  and  truth  accomplishes  no 
victory  without  it." 

Enthusiasm  is  the  element  of  success  in  every- 
thing. It  is  the  light  that  leads,  and  the  strength 
that  lifts  man  on  and  up  in  all  the  pursuits  of  life. 
It  robs  endurance  of  difficulty,  and  makes  a  pleasure 
of  duty.  It  is  the  lever  of  the  world  that  sets  great 
things  in  motion,  and  keeps  them  moving  till  they 
reach  the  top  of  the  hill.  It  is  a  fundamental  quality 
of  strong  souls,  the  nobility  of  blood  in  which  all 
greatness  of  thought  or  action  has  its  rise. 

Thinkers    and    observers    agree    in    placing    en- 


MAXIMS    AND    MOTTOES         43 

thusiasm  among  the  factors  essential  to  achieve- 
ment, for  without  enthusiasm  man  cannot  multiply 
himself  in  others.  Caesar,  the  great  soldier  and 
statesman,  would  not  have  his  place  on  the  pages  of 
history  but  for  his  power  to  multiply  himself. 
Washington,  multiplied  many  thousand  times,  won 
for  America  independence.  Under  present  condi- 
tions, without  enthusiasm  great  captains  of  in- 
dustry would  be  impossible.  No  man  can  reach 
eminence  in  the  enterprises  of  to-day  without  multi- 
plying himself  many  times  in  others,  and  this  he 
cannot  do  without  enthusiasm. 

The  demand  for  this  element  in  leaders  is  greater 
than  ever  before.  The  spirit  of  co-operation  is  now 
organizing  armies  to  fight  battles  in  every  field  of 
human  activity. 

Mr.  Brown's  enthusiasm,  guided  by  his  practical 
good  sense,  sustained  by  his  industry  and  perse- 
verance, has  been  a  factor  in  making  him  the  lead- 
ing shoe  merchant  of  the  world. 

When  we  come  in  contact  with  those  under  the 
impulse  of  a  great  idea,  something  of  their  force 
and  power  is  conveyed  to  us.  The  men  who  keep 
the  world  from  stagnation  and  achieve  greal  things, 
arc  men  wide  awake,  full  of  earnestness  in  which 
both  hear!  and  intellect  arc  enlisted. 


CHAPTER  X. 

EIGHTY-ONE    FIVE-DOLLAR    HATS. 

When  I  was  a  young  man  nineteen  years  old,  I 
started  in  the  mercantile  business  at  Ashland,  Mis- 
souri. I  came  to  St.  Louis  with  letters  to  Frank 
Ely  and  A.  D.  Brown.  I  first  called  on  Ely,  who 
agreed  to  sell  me  $1000  on  sixty  days,  but  Brown 
would  sell  me  only  S500,  thirty  days  net.  He 
waited  on  me  himself,  and  when  showing  me  the 
shoes,  opened  the  cases  and  took  out  one  after 
another  and  held  them  up  saying,  "  See  how  they 
run,  every  pair  just  alike."  He  did  not  walk,  but 
ran  from  box  to  box.  His  zeal,  his  intensity,  in 
the  language  of  another,  "  caught  me  in  the  col- 
lar," and  I  have  been  his  for  the  rest  of  the  way. 
When  1  returned  home  1  told  the  boys  at  the  store  we 
were  not  in  it,  in  snap  and  move,  with  the  young 
shoe  merchant.  I  continued  to  buy  of  him  till  I  re- 
tired from  the  active  management  of  the  business. 
His  individuality,  his  intensity,  his  zeal,  and  never 
ceasing  industry,  made  a  strong  impression  on  my 
voung  life.  Each  time  I  came  in  contact  with  him  I 
felt  a  new  force  impelling  me  to  renewed  push  and 
industry. 

In   1885,   when  en  route  to  the  Theological  Scm- 
inarv  at    Louisville,  Kentucky,  I    called    at   Tenth 

44 


EIGHTY-ONE  FIVE  DOLLAR-HATS   45 

and  Washington.  After  making  purchases  needed 
for  the  store,  J  told  Mr.  Brown  of  my  purpose  to 
study  for  the  ministry.  He  gave  me  to  understand 
as  did  my  late  partner,  Lawrence  Bass,  that  he 
thought  I  was  spoiling  a  good  merchant  for  the 
chance  of  making  a  poor  preacher,  that  he  fell  it 
would  be  better  if  I  would  go  on  making  money  for 
the  Lord,  and  let  some  one  else  do  the  preaching. 

When  pastor  of  my  first  charge  at  Jefferson  City, 
I  came  to  St.  Louis  to  secure  assistance  in  building 
a  church  edifice.  Mr.  Brown  gave  me  the  first 
Sioc  and  Frank  Ely  the  second. 

Some  one  has  said,  "  Brown  is  a  sponge,  he 
absorbs  ideas  from  all  with  whom  he  comes  in  con- 
tact." This  is  true,  and  he  utilizes  them,  if  he  feels 
that  they  are  good,  with  such  natural  frankness  and 
intensity,  that  all  who  associate  with  him  share  the 
profit. 

Mr.  Brown's  grasp  of  both  little  and  big  things 
that  come  within  the  range  of  his  view  is  remark- 
able, and  in  that  grasp  he  takes  in  the  substantial 
reason  behind  the  fact  that  makes  it  true.  In  a 
business  conversation  he  said  to  me,  "I  never  go 
to  the  bank  to  borrow  money  in  the  afternoon,  but 
in  the  morning  when  they  arc  fresh,  before  they 
arc  tind  out."  On  one  occasion  He  was  in  Boston 
with  one  of  the  directors,  and  they  decided  to  bor 
row  $100,000  from  the  banks  there.  Said  his  as- 
late,   "Are  you   ready  to  go?"      No,   I  must  get 

a  (have  first;  don't  you  think  they  will  accommodate 
more   freely,  if   I  am  -haven  and  clean  ?"    1 


46        A    MAX   WITH   A   PURPOSE 

once  rode  with  him  on  a  sired  car.  He  went  for- 
ward to  the  second  scat  from  the  front.  Said  I, 
''Why  did  you  come  here  for  a  seat?"  He  an- 
swered, "  The  air  is  better,  and  here  in  front  we  are 
less  crowded.  I  always  take  the  second  scat  from 
the  front  when  it  is  not  occupied.  "  His  faculty 
for  looking  at  things  from  all  sides  and  having 
good  reasons  for  all  he  does,  is  well  illustrated  in 
the  location  of  his  home,  the  store  and  factories; 
they  arc  the  best  possible  locations  for  their  pur- 
pose within  the  city  limits.  The  same  may  be  said 
of  the  Third  Baptist  Church,  the  Missouri  Baptist 
Sanitarium,  and  the  Baptist  Orphan's  Home,  all 
of  which  he  was  largely  instrumental  in  locating. 

He  acts  quickly,  so  much  so,  it  often  seems  with- 
out thought,  but  results  have  shown  that  the  points 
were  well  weighed,  and  delays  would  have  been  at 
a  sacrifice  or  loss  of  opportunity.  Matters  large 
and  small,  receive  his  careful  attention,  and  when 
he  acts  it  is  the  result  of  well  grounded  decision, 
however  quickly  he  may  have  come  to  the  conclusion. 

Mr.  Brown  is  eminently  successful  as  a  busi- 
ness man,  but  his  greatness  is  a  sort  we  all  may 
share;  his  virtues,  of  a  kind  we  may  possess.  Every 
man  who  succeeds  in  a  legitimate  business,  works 
with  the  same  tools  that  he  uses.  We  know  the 
man,  we  know  how  he  succeeds;  for  with  him 
there  arc  no  tricks  of  legerdemain,  no  deep  hidden 
secrets.  His  purity  of  purpose  is  unimpeached.  His 
untiring  industry,  steadfast  earnestness,  and  ster- 
ling honesty  are  our  possessions  as  examples. 


EIGHTY-ONE   FIVE-DOLLAR  HATS  47 

Early  in  life  he  adopted  the  motto  of  Franklin, 
"  Speak  ill  of  no  one,  and  attend  to  your  own  busi- 
ness," and  to  none  of  his  mottoes  is  he  more  loyal. 
At  times  it  appears  to  his  associates  necessary  for 
him  to  resent  the  action  of  a  competitor  or  the 
words  of  a  critic,  but  in  such  cases  he  is  persistently 
silent.  He  not  only  refuses  to  talk  disparagingly 
of  his  competitors,  but  about  their  business,  and 
encourages  his  associates  to  follow  his  example. 
In  a  recent  semi-annual  meeting  where  discussions 
relative  to  the  interest  of  the  business  were  general, 
and  participated  in  by  the  salesmen  from  all  parts 
of  the  country,  after  several  of  the  speakers  had 
referred  to  competing  manufacturers,  their  shoes, 
and  manner  of  doing  business,  Mr.  Brown  arose  and 
said,  "  I  always  found  it  paid  me  best  to  attend  to  my 
own  business,  and  if  I  do  that  properly  I  have  no  time 
to  waste  in  talking  about  the  other  fellow  or  his  busi- 
ness. If  he  is  strong,  I  cannot  afford  to  call  attention 
to  him,  if  weak,  it  is  a  great  waste  of  time,  besides  it 
is  not  good  taste  and  not  the  strongest  evidence  of  a 
gentleman  to  talk  of  competitors  and  their  wares.  I 
make  this  proposition  :  To  each  of  you  who  will  sign 
a  promise  that  you  will  attend  strictly  to  your  own 
business,  and  let  the  other  fellows  alone,  not  even 
talking  about  it  or  them,  I  will  give  a  five-dollar  hat." 
The  proposition  cost  him  eighty-one  hats. 

By  reason  of  his  decided  spirit  and  keen-cut 
method  of  doing  tilings,  Mr.  Brown  is  a  strong  in- 
fluence on  the  circle  and  time  in  which  he  lives,  an 
influence  that  will  widen  with  increasing  force. 


48        A   MAN   WITH   A    PURPOSE 

The  man  who  makes  a  mark  on  the  progress  and 
betterment  of  the  world  has  left  his  impress  on 
eternity. 

It  is  said  there  are  three  learned  professions, 
theology,  medicine,  and  law,  and  that  ignorance 
and  sin  supply  the  excuse  for  their  existence.  The 
work  of  the  teacher  is  as  great  as  either  of  these. 
The  purpose  of  teaching  is  to  develop  capacity,  and 
among  the  greatest  teachers  of  to-day  are  men  who 
give  employment,  teach  the  lesson  of  industry,  and 
open  the  way  to  apply  the  lesson. 

Sir  Walter  Scott  said,  "  The  literary  genius,  as  a 
benefactor,  is  not  to  be  mentioned  in  the  same  class 
with  those  who  have  to  do  with  the  practical  affairs 
of  life."  Of  the  men  who  have  had  to  do  with  the 
practical  affairs  of  life,  there  is  a  remarkable  simi- 
larity in  the  life  story  of  Marshall  Field,  the  great- 
est dry-goods  merchant,  and  A.  D.  Brown,  the  great- 
est shoe  merchant.  They  were  reared  on  stony  farms 
in  old  eastern  states,  born  of  sterling  parents,  made 
to  work,  and  were  sent  to  a  country  school  in  winter. 
When  seventeen,  each  entered  a  store  where  he  added 
to  his  capital  of  industry  and  unswerving  in- 
tegrity, the  experience  of  practical  commercial  life. 
Each  then  followed  the  advice  of  Greeley,  "  Go 
West,  young  man."  Industrious,  frugal,  and  hon- 
est, with  only  the  capital  of  these  sterling  virtues, 
each  was  sought  as  a  partner.  Both  built  on  the 
solid  rock  of  a  cash  basis,  and  early  in  life  occupied 
a  front  place  in  their  respective  fields.  These 
country  boys  within  a  few  years  had  placed    the 


EIGHTY-ONE  FIVE-DOLLAR  HATS  49 

stamp  of  their  individuality  on  the  commerce  of 
the  world. 

Jefferson  said,  "  The  hope  of  the  nation  lies  in 
the  tillers  of  the  soil."  At  that  time  farming  was 
the  great  business  of  the  country,  and  considered 
the  most  dignified.  Men  of  genius  and  ambition 
worked  in  other  vocations  for  the  purpose  of  gain- 
ing wealth  to  advance  to  that  exalted  pursuit. 
Conditions  have  changed.  We  now  find  ambitious 
farmer  boys  pushing  to  trade  centers,  not  alone  to 
increase  their  fortunes  more  rapidly  than  can  be 
done  on  the  farm,  but  for  social  and  other  ad- 
vantages of  the  city.  But  the  truth  spoken  by 
Jefferson  stands,  and  with  wider  significance.  Not 
only  are  tillers  of  the  soil  still  the  bulwark  of 
our  laws,  but  their  sons,  thronging  the  cities,  in- 
fuse into  the  arteries  of  commercial  and  industrial 
life  their  vigor,  industry,  and  steadiness,  which 
have  given  to  our  country  its  supremacy  in  the 
marts  of  the  world. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

SELECTING    LIEUTENANTS. 

In  1884  the  manufacture  of  shoes  was  carried  on 
in  the  two  upper  stories  of  the  store  at  Tenth  and 
Washington  Avenue.  Needing  an  office  boy  for  the 
factory,  Mr.  Brown  made  his  wants  known  to  the 
managers  of  the  commercial  school  of  Bryant  & 
Stratton.  A  youth  of  eighteen,  from  the  country, 
had  just  completed  his  course,  and  opportunity  was 
given  to  him  to  answer  the  call.  He  was  given  a 
trial  and  secured  a  place  on  the  pay-roll  at  five  dol- 
lars per  week.  The  young  man  whom  he  succeeded 
as  office  boy  had  gone  into  the  factory,  but  being  dis- 
satisfied, was  returned  to  the  office,  and  the  commer- 
cial graduate  went  into  the  factory,  but  was  soon 
called  back  to  the  office,  and  resumed  its  duties. 
Coming  down  from  the  factory  floors  one  Saturday 
evening,  with  the  books  under  his  arm,  Mr.  Brown 
asked,  "How  many?"  "I  don't  know."  Said  Mr. 
Brown,  "In  our  department  the  book-keeper  can 
tell  everything."  "I  can  tell,"  said  the  youth,  rush- 
ing up  the  stairs.  He  quickly  returned,  and  said, 
"Eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-three  pairs  were 
made  this  week."  The  young  book-keeper,  after 
this  experience,  kept  posted  and  rarely  failed  to 
answer  a  question  promptly.     In  1885  his  salary  was 

50 


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SELECTING    LIEUTENANTS     51 

advanced  to  seven  dollars  and  fifty  cents,  and  the 
following  year  to  nine  dollars  per  week.  In  1887  his 
pay  was  raised  to  fifteen  dollars  and  the  next  year, 
in  addition  to  keeping  the  books,  he  was  nominally 
assistant  superintendent  of  the  factory,  with  a  salary 
of  eighteen  dollars. 

The  increased  demand  for  their  own  make  of  shoes, 
necessitated  the  building  of  a  factory  with  greatly 
enlarged  capacity.     The  factory  superintendent  was 
mostly  occupied  in  looking  after  the  building,  leav- 
ing his  duties  at  the  factory  largely  to  the  young 
book-keeper.     The  superintendent  became  jealous 
of  the  recognition  accorded  his  assistant  and  was  so 
disagreeable  to  him,  that  the  young  man  resigned, 
and  went  to  the  store  to  draw  his  savings,  which 
amounted  to  Si  700.00.     Mr.  Brown   said  to  him, 
"  What  is  the  trouble  ?  "     "  The  superintendent  does 
not  recognize  the  value  of  my  services,  and  complains 
of  my  work.  "     "I  have  always  thought  you  were 
trying  to  do  your  best,  and  think  this  is  the  place  for 
you."     "  Rut,  Mr.  Brown,  I  have  done  the  best  I 
know  how,  and  am  not  able  to  please  the  superin- 
tendent; I  am  not  afraid  to  work,  and  believe  I  can 
find  some  one  who  will  appreciate  it.  "    "  I  appreciate 
it,  and  will  give  you  a  job  here.    We  arc  opening  in 
Georgia, <  Oregon, and  Washington, take  your  choice." 
The   young    man   chose    Georgia.     Twenty  months 
later  the  superintendent  of  the  factory  resigned,  and 
the  young  man  was  called  in  by  Mr.  Brown  to  take 
his  place.     He  now  has  charge  of  two  thousand 
employees,  making  fourteen  thousand  pairs  of  shoe-, 


52        A   MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

daily,  with  a  pay-roll  of  over  a  $1,000,000  a  year. 
Beginning  in  1884  on  a  salary  of  five  dollars  a  week, 
his  duties  including  the  counting  of  the  shoes  made, 
— eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-three  pairs  being  a 
banner  week, — he  now  buys  the  materials,  and  super- 
intends the  making  of  eighty-four  thousand  pairs  per 
week,  has  an  income  of  more  than  $2,000  a  month, 
is  a  trusted  lieutenant  of  the  great  shoe  merchant,  and 
a  leading  spirit  in  the  councils  of  his  cabinet. 

In  the  story  of  this  young  man,  one  who  reads  be- 
tween the  lines  can  find  one  of  the  secrets  of  Mr. 
Brown's  success.  He  recognizes  capacity  and  am- 
bition, and  rewards  merit.  He  knew  this  young  man, 
with  his  four  years'  experience  and  knowledge  of  the 
business,  was  of  value  to  the  enlarging  plant.  He  was 
too  wise  to  take  up  a  quarrel  engendered  by  petty 
jealousy,  and  retained  the  assistance  of  two  valuable 
men  by  placing  them  in  separate  departments. 

This  incident  not  only  shows  his  broad  spirit  but 
his  tact  in  overcoming  obstacles,  making  them  help 
instead  of  hinder  progress.  It  also  reveals  his  keen 
discrimination  in  recognizing  merit,  and  his  liberal 
spirit  in  rewarding  it. 

In  1885  a  young  man  came  to  St.  Louis  from  the 
South,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  place  with  the 
Hamilton,  Brown  Shoe  Company.  On  his  first  call 
he  was  told  there  was  no  opening.  Calling  a  second 
time,  he  was  advised  there  would  be  a  position  open 
the  first  of  the  year,  in  the  mean  time,  if  he  wished 
the  place,  and  wanted  to  learn  the  stock,  he  had  the 
privilege  of  doing  so.     After  a  year's  work  in  the 


SELECTING  LIEUTENANTS     53 

office  and  as  house-salesman,  he  went  on  the  road, 
and  succeeded  in  building  up  a  large  and  growing 
trade.  He  married  and  established  a  comfortable 
home  in  one  of  the  small  cities  in  the  midst  of  his 
territory.  For  an  outing  and  to  brighten  up  and  see 
what  was  going  on  at  headquarters,  he  came  with  his 
young  wife  to  St.  Louis,  Christmas,  1898.  While  in 
the  city  he  was  chosen  to  take  charge  of  a  new  factory 
to  be  built  in  answer  to  the  growing  demand  for 
their  own  make  shoes.  He  was  not  even  given  the 
opportunity  to  return  to  his  home  and  pack  his 
household  goods,  but  placed  in  charge  of  a  vacant  lot 
and  instructed  to  erect,  equip,  and  start  the  factory. 
This  action  of  Mr.  Brown,  taking  a  man  who  knew 
nothing  about  manufacturing  and  placing  him  in 
charge  of  this  plant,  created  much  comment  by  his 
eastern  friends.  One  Boston  man  said,  "People 
say  A.  D.  Brown  is  conservative,  but  he  is  the  great- 
est plunger  on  earth.  To  take  a  traveling  man, 
without  knowledge  or  experience  in  manufacturing 
shoes,  and  place  him  in  charge  of  the  largest  factory 
in  the  west  is  the  extreme  of  re<  klcssness."  Mr. 
Brown's  knowledge  of  men  and  things  was  more  far- 
reaching  than  that  of  his  Boston  friend.  He  chose 
for  an  important  place  a  man  of  business  capacity, 
rather  than  one  of  me<  hanical  knowledge.  One 
who  could  run  a  business,  rather  than  one  who  could 
run  a  machine.  The  wisdom  of  his  choice  was  soon 
demonstrated.    The  building  was  completed  and 

equipped,   and    within   three   months  after  starting, 
it  placed  money  in  the  dividend  fund. 


54        A    MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

This  young  man  came  to  St.  Louis  twenty  years 
ago,  his  only  capital  being  manhood.  He  worked 
two  months  in  the  store,  then  a  year  in  the  office 
and  as  house  salesman  at  seventy-five  dollars  per 
month.  He  was  thirteen  years  on  the  road ;  one  of 
the  very  best  schools  for  business  training. 

Mr.  Brown  was  on  a  tower  with  a  search-light 
and  a  field  glass  looking  for  men.  He  realized  that 
the  stupendous  business  fabric  he  was  building  could 
not  stand  without  lieutenants  for  its  ever  increasing 
battalions.  Lieutenants,  who  were  men  of  purpose, 
in  whom  were  grafted  his  spirit  and  methods.  Ne- 
cessity demanded  an  exceptional  man  for  this  place, 
and  in  the  sweep  of  Mr.  Brown's  search  his  eye 
rested  on  this  man.  With  his  wonderful  capacity 
for  keeping  his  accumulated  knowledge  at  hand 
and  ready  for  use  in  deciding  a  question,  he  called  to 
mind  all  he  had  learned  of  him  in  fourteen  years' 
observation,  placed  it  in  the  balance  against  others 
who  were  being  considered,  then  said,  "thou  art  the 
man."  His  experience  with  his  other  factories  had 
taught  him  that  it  was  better  to  use  for  important 
places  men  who  were  schooled  in  his  methods,  rather 
than  those  educated  under  another  system. 

This  man  is  now  a  man  among  men.  An  active 
director  in  the  management  of  the  great  corporation 
with  an  annual  income  of  $25,000.  He  is  an  im- 
portant factor  in  the  life  of  the  city,  and  gives  of  his 
income  fifty  dollars  every  week  to  the  work  of  phi- 
lanthropy and  religion. 

In  1881,  "Hamilton,  Brown  &  Company,''  adver- 


SELECTING   LIEUTENANTS      55 

tised  in  the  St.  Louis  Republic,  "Wanted,  a  book- 
keeper." Among  the  answers  to  the  advertisement 
was  a  young  man  of  twenty-nine.  A  man  of  strong 
mind,  settled  in  his  habits,  decided  in  his  convictions. 
A  man  of  unquestioned  integrity,  but  with  views  on 
religion  antagonistic  to  those  of  Mr.  Brown.  Here 
two  strong  minds  met,  and  each  saw  in  the  other  pro- 
nounced opposition  to  cherished  views.  Mr.  Brown's 
loyalty  to  the  business,  and  his  spirit  of  toleration  for 
freedom  of  conscience,  for  which  his  ancestors  so 
vehemently  declared  more  than  two  and  a  half  cen- 
turies before,  asserted  itself.  For  reason  of  his  emi- 
nent qualifications  he  advanced  the  young  man  to 
one  of  the  highest  positions  in  his  cabinet.  Although 
this  man  did  not  highly  regard  Mr.  Brown's  views  on 
religion,  he  recognized  his  genius  and  tremendous 
power  as  an  organizer  and  leader,  and  gave  him 
the  loyal  support  of  his  counsel  and  efforts.  As 
a  result  of  that  intelligent  co-operation,  he  is  the 
possessor  of  a  fortune  of  a  half  million  dollars. 

A-  Washington  gave  the  brilliant  Hamilton  a  place 
in  his  cabinet  for  reason  of  his  qualifications,  re- 
gardless of  their  strained  personal  relations,  so  Mr. 
Brown,  when  he  weighed  the  ability  and  experience 
of  this  man  and  put  him  through  the  crucible  of  his 
analysis,  saw  that  he  was  the  man  for  the  place. 

Some  have  said,  "  Mr.  Brown  is  fortunate  in  sel<<  t 
ing  his  lieutenants."     It  is  not  good  fortune,  as  a 
1  Lose  -Indent  of  his  methods  can  discover,  but  knowl- 
edge, gained  by  experience  and  observation,  put  to 
use. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

WANKED,  A   YOUNG    MAX. 

In  the  fall  of  1900,  Mr.  Brown  advertised,  "Want- 
ed, a  young  man,  born  on  a  farm,  who  does    not 
smoke,  or  drink,  and  is  not  afraid  of  work."    Some 
fifty  or  sixty  came  in  answer  to  the  advertisement. 
He  looked  them  over,  clothes,  collars,  neckties,  and 
shoes;  if  they  were  clean  he  told  them  to  step  aside; 
if  not,  he  told  them  to  go.     To  those  who  remained 
he  said,  "All  who  do  not  smoke  or  drink,  hold  up 
your  right  hand."    All  went  up.     They  were  then 
called  before  him  one  at  a  time,  some  eight  of  them 
were  told  to  stay,  the  others  he  wished  well,  and  told 
to  go.     Taking  the  eight  to  an  upper  floor,  he  ques- 
tioned them,  getting  a  complete  detail  of  their  his- 
tory.    The  questions  and  answers  were  taken  down 
in    shorthand,  copied  on  the  type-writer  and  signed. 
He  then  told  them  he  would  write  in  a  few  days.     He 
gave  the  place  to  a  young  man  who  is  still  with  the 
house,  having  been  advanced  to  a  position  on  the 
road.     He  wrote  each  of  the  others,  wishing  them 
well,  and  bidding  them  godspeed.     The  replies  to 
the  searching  questions  the  young  man  was  required 
to   answer  are   really   an   autobiography: 

What  is  your  name'     Edmond  R.  Hale. 

Where  were  you  bora?      In  Guaymus,  Mexico. 

56 


WANTED  — A   YOUNG    MAN        57 

Are  you  a  graduate?  I  have  been  in  college  here  in  Mis- 
souri.    I  went  to  Marmaduke  Military  Academy. 

How  long?     Four  years. 

Did  you  get  a  diploma?  I  have  a  diploma  from  a  busi- 
ness college  in  California. 

But  you  went  to  the  Military  school  four  years,  long  enough 
to  get  a  diploma.  Why  did  you  not  get  one  ?  The  school 
building  burned  two  months  before  we  were  to  graduate, 
and  we  did  not  get  any  diplomas.  They  gave  no  diplomas 
to  any  of  that  class. 

What  is  your  father's  occupation?  My  father  was  U.  S. 
Consul  in  Guaymus.     He  was  in  business  there,  too. 

Is  he  living?     He  died  three  years  ago. 

What  was  his  estate  worth?     Probably  $30,000. 

Did  he  make  all  of  that?    Yes,  sir,  every  cent  of  it. 

Is  your  mother  living  ?     Xo,  sir. 

At  what  time  did  she  die?     At  forty-nine  years. 

At  what  time  did  your  father  die?     At  sixty-nine. 

How  long  ago  did  you  finish  school?  I  finished  at  Mar- 
maduke in  July,  1896.  After  the  college  building  burned 
I  continued  my  studies  under  a  private  teacher,  but  the  school 
did  not  issue  diplomas  to  any  of  that  class.  After  I  had  fin- 
ished with  my  private  teacher,  I  went  to  California,  and  took 
a  business  course,  studied  stenography    and  book-keeping. 

Have  you  saved  any  money?  I  have  an  account  in  tin- 
bank  of  some  S300. 

Whom  have  you  been  working  for?     I  was  with  the  Con 
solidated  Brick  Company  of  El  Paso,  Texas. 

How  long  have  you  been  in  Si.  Louis?  Since  the  first  of 
November. 

What  have  you  been  doing  since  then?     I  have  been  look 
ing  around  for  ;i  position. 

Where  have  you  been  stopping?     At  40O8  Wot  Bell 

What  church  have  you  belonged  to?    Catholic  Church, 

Do  you  smoke?    Not  very  much 

Takt  .1  beer?    Not  very  often. 

PI. iv  .  arda  a  little '    So  -ir. 


58        A    MAX   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

Think  you  could  give  up  these  things?     Very  easily. 

Will  you  do  it  ?     Yes,  sir. 

Are  you  willing  to  work  hard    and    make   something  of 

yourself?     Yes,  sir. 

Good  health?     Yes,  sir. 

How  much  do  you  weigh  ?  148  lbs.  No,  about  138  or  140, 
somewhere  there. 

How  did  you  happen  to  come  here  this  morning?  I  saw 
the  advertisement  in  the  paper. 

Clean  your  own  shoes  ?     Yes,  sir,  sometimes. 

You  think  you  have  got  the  sand  and  grit  in  you  to  do 
something?     I  think  I  have.     I  am  confident  of  it. 

Any  trouble  with  your  eyes?     No,  sir. 

From  head  to  heel,  all  in  good  health,  no  indigestion? 
No,  sir. 

Where  were  you  born?  I  was  born  in  Mexico.  My 
father  was  an  American  and  my  mother  a  Mexican.  My 
father  left  about  $30,000.     There  were  five  children. 

Did  you  get  part  of  the  estate  ?     Yes,  sir. 

What  have  you  done  with  it?  I  did  not  get  any  cash. 
Father  was  insured  for  $5,000  in  gold,  and  $1,000  in  Mexican 
money.  I  received  my  portion  when  I  was  twenty-one.  I 
went  to  California,  and  started  in  business  with  a  friend  of 
mine,  and  we  did  not  make  a  go  of  it. 

All  the  money  you  have  now  is  $300  ?  I  have  about  $280 
in  the  bank  in  St.  Louis. 

And  this  property  left  you,  what  did  you  do  with  that? 
It  is  still  mine. 

Does  it  pay?  It  pays  about  S300  in  Mexican  money,  and 
my  share  of  that  is  about  S25  a  month  in  gold. 

How  many  children  were  in  the  family  ?  Five,  three  boys 
and  two  girls. 

Are  you  the  oldest?     I  am  the  youngest. 

What  are  the  other  boys  doing?  One  of  them  is  at  present 
in  Guaymus,  in  business.  He  was  with  a  big  firm  there  until 
they  burned  out.  He  has  a  small  business  of  his  own  there,  now. 

Do  you  like  work?     I  do;  yes,  sir. 


WANTED  — A    YOUNG     MAN       59 

What  is  your  other  brother  doing  ?  He  is  in  the  commission 
business. 

Is  he  successful?     Quite  successful;  yes,  sir. 

Do  you  think  you  would  be  willing  to  take  off  your  coat 
and  go  to  handling  boxes,  and  learn  shoes?  Yes  sir.  I  am 
not  afraid  of  any  kind  of  work  if  there  is  a  future  for  me. 

(Signed)     Edmond  R.  Hale. 
November  22,  1000. 

This  is  a  sample  taken  at  random  from  hundreds 
and  given  here  verbatim. 

An  intimate  friend  asked  Mr.  Brown  for  a  posi- 
tion for  his  son  of  seventeen.  "Send  him  down," 
said  he,  "I  will  see  what  kind  of  a  boy  he  is;  it  is  a 
great  thing  for  a  young  man  to  get  a  place  with  the 
Hamilton,  Brown  Shoe  Company."  When  the 
youth  went  to  Mr.  Brown  he  was  as  carefully  ex- 
amined as  if  he  had  come  in  answer  to  an  adver- 
tisement, put  through  the  course  of  questions  as  to 
his  habits,  the  extent  of  his  education,  his  hopes  in 
life,  and  what  he  expected  to  make  of  himself.  Be- 
fore giving  an  answer  Mr.  Brown  went  to  the  school 
where  the  young  man  had  been  in  attendance,  and 
finding  his  record  good  gave  him  a  position.  He 
would  not  give  the  son  of  his  friend  a  place  in  his 
store  until  he  knew  the  boy  possessed  the  right  qual- 
ities. The  young  man's  father  and  friends  were  no 
help  to  him  in  securing  advancement. 

He  began  by  handling  boxes  and  worked  his  way 
to  the  office  and  -ales  floor  by  close  attention,  study- 
ing the  interests  of  the  company,  and  working  to 

advance  them.      Later  he  was  given  a  place  as  travel 
ing  sale-man,  not  !>•■<  ause  he  was  the  son  of  a  friend, 


Oo        A   MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

but  because  of  his  qualifications  to  fill  it.  He  soon 
built  up  a  large  and  profitable  business  in  his  terri- 
tory, was  encouraged  to  buy  stock  of  the  company, 
and  Mr.  Brown  loaned  him  the  money  with  which 
to  make  the  purchase. 

The  increase  and  demands  of  the  growing  busi- 
ness developed  the  necessity  of  a  special  department, 
and  the  alert  eye  of  Mr.  Brown  fell  on  this  young 
man  for  the  important  position  of  manager.  Al- 
though this  department,  as  an  independent  one, 
has  only  been  in  existence  a  few  years,  its  strength- 
ening and  upbuilding  power  is  felt  by  every  other  of 
the  great  business,  and  the  wisdom  of  the  selection 
of  its  ambitious,  able,  and  intensely  active  manager 
is  fully  demonstrated. 

This  young  man  is  not  thirty-five,  yet  the  busi- 
ness education  he  has  acquired  under  the  tutorage 
of  Mr.  Brown,  has  made  him  one  of  the  broad, 
bright  business  men  of  St.  Louis,  and  the  possessor 
of  a  fortune. 

It  has  not  been  accident  nor  luck  that  has  enabled 
Mr.  Brown  to  procure  the  best  help  in  every  depart- 
ment of  his  great  industry,  and  to  organize  an  invinci- 
ble army  that  is  winning  victories  in  the  field  of  com- 
merce, but  knowledge  applied. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

LOYAL    TO    EMPLOYEES. 

It  is  difficult  to  fathom  the  motive  that  impels  the 
action  of  a  man  in  certain  conditions  or  discover  his 
reason  for  a  different  course  at  other  times  under  like 
circumstances.  In  1872,  a  few  months  after  engag- 
ing in  the  shoe  business,  Mr.  Brown  discharged  his 
porter  for  his  first  offense  of  intoxication.  Later,  a 
man  filling  the  same  position,  became  a  slave  to 
liquor,  and  henot  only  retained  him  in  the  place,  but 
did  even-thing  he  could  to  free  him  from  the  chain ^ 
that  bound  him  to  strong  drink.  Had  him  to  move 
away  from  his  environs  to  a  different  part  of  the  city ; 
took  him  twice  to  Eureka  Springs,  and  not  only  stayed 
with  him,  but  prayed  with  him  in  his  endeavor  to 
free  him  from  the  grip  of  the  baneful  habit. 

Mr.  Brown  is  careful,  painstaking,  and  thorough 
in  his  examination  and  investigation  before  giving  a 
man  employment,  but  when  one  is  on  the  list  of  his 
employees  he  will  make  sacrifices  to  retain  him.  He 
will  not  discharge  an  employee  if  there  is  any  way  to 
avoid  it.  If  there  is  n  complaint  by  his  associates, 
he  answers,  "We  have  worked  with  this  man,  and 
he  has  learned  something;  with  a  new  man  we  will 
have  to  go  over  the  same.  Can't  we  help  him  in  his 
weak  points,  and  make  a  good  man  out  of  him?" 

'  1 


62        A   MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

His  business  life  is  filled  with  incidents  where  men 
have  gone  wrong  and  been  straightened  out  time 
and  again,  until  finally  they  made  splendid  men. 
Several  times  he  has  been  compelled  to  discharge 
men  who  later  returned  and  asked  to  be  tried  again, 
promising  to  reform.  As  often  as  three  times  he  has 
taken  them  back,  before  they  mastered  their  weakness. 
There  are  now  at  least  three  among  the  successful 
salesmen,  who  won  the  final  victory  over  a  weakness 
by  the  aid  of  Mr.  Brown's  helping  hand  extended 
the  third  time. 

Few  men  who  have  such  complete  self  control,  ex- 
ercise so  much  charity  for  weakness  in  others  as  does 
Mr.  Brown.  He  is  fortified  by  long  continued  prac- 
tice of  good  habits.  He  counts  a  good  habit  an  asset; 
.a  bad  habit  a  liability. 

Habit  is  something  that  has  worn  for  itself  a  path- 
way in  the  body.  It  is  conduct  traveling  on  a  trunk 
line  of  its  own  making.  One  does  a  thing  so  often 
that  he  does  it  without  effort,  and  does  it  uncon- 
sciously. Soon  he  must  struggle  to  keep  from  doing 
it.  The  first  lie  is  hard  to  tell,  conscience  rebels;  the 
second  is  told  with  less  hindrance;  the  third  is  easy. 
Soon  the  lie  has  a  highway  of  its  own  through  the 
body.  The  drink  habit  makes  a  start,  and  directly 
has  a  trunk  line,  down  grade,  with  no  brakes. 

A  man's  body  becomes  a  net-work  of  railroads, 
built  by  habits,  every  one  of  which  is  a  friend  or  foe  to 
character.  It  is  impossible  to  take  sin  into  the  body 
and  evade  its  penalty.  The  memory  of  sin  may 
depart,  but  the  damage  remains.    There  is  an  idea 


LOYAL   TO    EMPLOYEES         63 

with  many  that  it  is  all  right  for  a  young  man  to  sow 
''wild  oats."  This  is  a  sad  mistake.  The  youth  is 
thus  wearing  channels  of  vice  in  his  being.  He  may 
reform  but  the  scar  remains.  On  the  other  hand, 
we  may  cultivate  the  spirit  of  rightness  and  fortify 
character  with  habits  of  virtue  and  probity. 

An  old  king  wanted  a  charioteer.  When  appli- 
cants applied  for  the  position,  he  asked,  "How  near 
can  you  drive  to  yonder  precipice?"  "Within  a  foot, 
and  at  a  full  gallop,"  answered  the  first.  The  second 
said,  "  I  can  drive  within  a  hair's  breadth."  "  I  think, 
Sire,"  said  the  third,  "I  can  lap  half  the  outer  tire 
over  the  rock,  and  the  other  half  over  the  precipice." 
'And  you,"  said  the  king  to  one  who  had  remained 
silent.  "  Your  Majesty,  if  I  were  your  charioteer, 
I  should  drive  as  far  from  the  edge  as  the  road 
would  allow."  "You  are  my  charioteer,"  said  the 
king. 

Mr.  Brown's  habit  has  been  to  drive  as  far  from 
the  precipice  as  possible.  In  his  letters,  when  a 
young  man,  he  writes,  "I  avoid  bad  company,  I  go 
to  prayer  meeting,  Sunday  school  and  church,  be- 
cause they  are  safe  places  to  go.  I  spend  my  leisure 
time  reading  good  hooks." 

Lord  Brougham  said,  "1  trust  everything  under 
God  to  habit,  upon  which,  in  all  ages,  the  law  giver, 
will  a-  the  schoolmaster,  has  mainly  placed  his 
reliance;  habits  which  make  everything  easy,  and 
t  all  difficulties  upon  the  deviation  from  awonted 
course.  Make  sobriety  a  habit  and  intemperance 
will  be  hateful;  make  prudence  a  habit,  and  proflJ 


64       A   MAX   WITH   A   PURPOSK 

gacy  will  be  as  contrary  to  the  child  or  adult,  as  the 
most  atrocious  crime  to  any  of  us." 

Habit,  with  many,  becomes  the  test  of  truth. 
Crabbe  says,  "It  must  be  right,  I  have  done  it  since 
my   youth.'1 

"All  habits  gather  by  unseen  degrees, 
As  brooks  make  rivers,  rivers  run  to  seas." 

The  habit  of  virtue  cannot  be  formed  by  a  resolu- 
tion in  a  closet,  but  by  acts  of  reason  in  a  persevering 
struggle  against  temptation.  The  habit  of  directing 
the  will  rightly  is  the  strongest  support  of  character, 
and  this  habit  becomes  a  benignant  ruler,  but  if  we 
direct  the  will  wrongly,  the  habit  becomes  a  cruel 
despot.  We  may  become  its  willing  subjects  on  the 
one  side  or  its  servile  slaves  on  the  other.  It  may 
help  us  on  the  road  to  good  or  hurry  us  on  the  road 
to    ruin. 

Habits  of  vice  never  secured  a  footing  in  Mr. 
Brown.  He  early  established  himself  in  habits  of 
right,  and  as  a  result,  his  body,  unscarred  by  inroads 
of  vice,  responds  to  the  demands  of  a  soul  that  is  free 
from  the  burdens  of  remorse  and  regret,  but  keen  in 
sympathy,  and  earnest  in  effort  to  help  those  less 
fortunate. 

His  habits  of  industry  and  economy  are  so  firmly 
fixed  that  idleness  and  waste  would  be  for  him  a 
Herculean  task.  His  habits  of  temperance  and 
right  living  are  such  that  dissipation  and  vice  would 
be  torture.  His  habits  of  virtue  and  right  consti- 
tute a  greater  asset  in  measuring  his  true  success 
than  all  his  material  wealth. 


LOYAL   TO   EMPLOYEES  65 

It  is  the  good  habits  of  Mr.  Brown  that  enable  him 
to  go  forward  with  the  greatest  capacity  for  work  of 
any  man  connected  with  the  company  of  which  he  is 
head,  although  all  are  younger,  even'  one  of  his 
early  associates  having  passed  away. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

A   HORN   OF   PLENTY. 

One  of  the  secrets  of  Mr.  Brown's  strength  as  an 
organizer  is  his  painstaking  care  in  selecting  helpers, 
and  especially  those  who  have  a  voice  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  business.  In  selecting  such,  he  does  not 
choose  mere  machines  to  do  his  bidding,  but  men  of 
brains,  men  of  will,  men  of  plan,  and  men  of  pur- 
pose, whose  force  finds  exDression  in  the  councils  of 
his    cabinet. 

To  meet  the  demands  of  the  rapidly  growing 
business  and  open  the  door  of  opportunity  to  those 
who  were  helping  to  build  up  the  enterprise,  the  cap- 
ital stock  was  increased  in  1888  to  $500,000;  in  1890 
to  $750,000;  in  1893  to  $1,000,000;  in  1900  to 
$1,500,000;  and  in  1905  to  $2,500,000.  The  num- 
ber of  stockholders  was  increased  to  one  hundred 
and  ninety,  and  includes  all  the  salesmen,  heads  of 
departments,  factory  superintendents  and  foremen. 
Men  who  showed  an  interest  in  the  business  and 
capacity  for  its  work  were  urged  to  buy  stock  in  the 
company,  and  Mr.  Brown  lent  them  the  money  with 
which  to  make  the  purchases.  He  grew  in  breadth  of 
grasp  with  the  expanding  enterprise.  When  the 
scope  of  his  vision  of  trade  had  widened  in  extent 
till  it  reached  from  ocean  to  ocean,  and  from  the 

66 


A   HORN   OF    PLENTY  67 

lakes  to  the  gulf,  he  realized  he  must  have  the  sup- 
port and  co-operation  of  a  well-organized  army  to 
meet  the  demands  of  the  stupendous  task,  and  to 
assure  permanent  and  steadfast  loyalty,  a  number 
of  lieutenants  must  be  anchored  with  the  chain  of 
their  own  vital  and  growing  interest. 

Mr.  Brown  delights  in  the  material  prosperity  of 
his  associates  in  business,  and  sees  that  their  rewards 
keep  pace  with  their  advance  in  capacity  and  zeal 
in  promoting  its  interests.  His  rapidly  increasing 
wealth  has  added  power  to  his  helping  hand,  the 
friendly  grasp  of  which  has  helped  so  many  to  win 
success. 

The  six  large  factories  of  the  Hamilton,  Brown 
Shoe  Co.,  employ  five  thousand  people,  and  have  a 
capacity  of  thirty-eight  thousand  pairs  of  shoes 
daily.  Over  a  shoe  for  every  second.  The  capital 
-tock  is  in  demand  at  S600  per  share,  the  par  value 
being  Sioo. 

This  great  business  i>  a  monument  to  the  genius  of 
A.  D.  Brown.  In  1872,  $23,000  were  put  into  it, 
and  since  then,  not  one  dollar,  drawn  from  or  made  in 
any  other  field,  has  gone  into  the  enterprise.  This 
S23,ooo,  under  his  guiding  hand,  has  become  a  horn 
of  plenty  and  ha-,  perhaps,  made  more  prosperous 
and  happy  home-  than  any  other  like  sum  of  this 
generation.     It  has  paid  to  employees  and  attaches 

'),ooo,ooo  in  wages  and  salaries.  Tt  has  given  to 
more  than  one  hundred  of  those  engaged  in  the  work 
of  it>  progress,  fortunes  ranging  from  $5,000  to  more 
than  $5,000,000  <a<  h.     It   has  paid  to  widows  and 


68        A   MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

orphans  of  men  who  were  associated  in  its  work  and 
those  who  withdrew  from  its  interests  and  activi- 
ties, over  $3,000,000.  For  every  working  day  of 
the  past  year  it  paid  in  wages,  salaries,  and  dividends 
over  Si 2,000. 

We  have  in  America  many  records  of  rapidly  in- 
creasing wealth  but  in  most  cases  it  has  been  the 
result  of  a  discovery  in  science,  the  invention  of  a 
device  for  utility,  protected  by  patent,  creating  a 
monopoly,  or  by  securing  control  of  some  of  nature's 
vast  stores  of  mineral,  oil,  coal,  or  some  other*  sub- 
stance that  contributes  to  the  comfort  of  man,  and 
which  his  necessities  demand.  But  we  have  few 
instances  in  this  era  of  marvelous  things  that  sur- 
pass the  achievement  of  Mr.  Brown's  thirty-four 
years  of  labor,  in  a  field  that  is  famous  for  the  bril- 
liancy and  thoroughness  of  its  workers,  and  in 
which  competition  is,  perhaps,  sharper  than  in  any 
other  of  our  great  industries. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE   AMERICAN   SHOE. 

There  is  probably  no  useful  commodity  of  every 
day  life  of  which  so  little  is  known  as  the  American 
shoe.     To  manufacture  and  distribute  it  success- 
fully requires  executive  ability  above  that  of  other 
industries.     There  are  no  other  people    on  earth 
who  clothe  their  feet  so  well  as  Americans.     The 
crude  sandal  of  the  Mexican  is  made  of  raw-hide 
denuded  of  hair.     The    Esquimaux  cover  their  feet 
with  the  skin  of  the  seal,  sewed  with  its  own  sinews. 
In  Holland  the  shoe  is  carved  out  of  a  block  of  wood. 
The  Coolies  of  the  Orient  use  a  sandal  made  of 
woven  grass  with  raw-hide  for  a  sole.     In  China 
the  sole  is  made  of  felt,  the  upper  of  closely  woven 
cloth.     It  is  more  complicated  than  those  mentioned 
above  but  clumsy  in  appearance,  and  docs  not  al- 
low easy  muscular  action  of  the  foot.     The  shoes 
worn  by  the  better  classes  of  Europe  are  similar  to 
those  used  by  Americans,  but  greatly  inferior  in  lit, 
form,  diversity  of  width,  style  and  beauty  of  outline. 
The  American  shoe,  that  is,  the  best  quality  that 
usually  sells  to  the  user  at  from  four  to  live  dollars 
per  pair,  is  the  crowning  achievement  of  factory 
products,  the  acme  "f  industrial  wisdom,  outstrip- 
ping any  other  commodity  of  manufactured  mer 

6o 


;o        A    MAX    WITH   A    PURPOSE 

chandise.  There  are  more  elements  required  for 
its  completion  than  any  other  finished  product.  So 
diverse  are  they  and  subject  to  so  many  and  fre- 
quent market  changes,  that  it  requires  greater  judg- 
ment in  the  purchase  of  materials,  greater  mechan- 
ical efficiency  to  produce,  and  greater  business 
acumen  and  energy  to  sell  and  distribute,  than  any 
other  useful  product  of  man. 

Compared  with  the  American  shoe  the  watch  is 
a  plaything,  the  piano  a  musical  toy,  and  the  great 
locomotive  of  the  modern  passenger  train  less  ef- 
fective in  travel. 

The  combining  of  comfort,  durability,  and  taste 
in  the  building  of  a  fine  shoe  calls  for  a  higher  grade 
of  harmony  than  the  construction  of  a  piano. 

In  a  high-grade  patent-leather  vamp,  dull-top  bal 
for  men's  wear,  the  leather  for  the  top  or  ankle  cover 
is  made  from  the  skin  of  a  goat,  grown  in  South 
America,  and  tanned  in  Philadelphia,  by  the  use  of 
gambier,  which  is  obtained  in  the  East  Indies;  from 
Michigan  comes  the  degras,  or  wool  oil,  used  in  soft- 
ening this  top;  from  Vermont  the  copperas  which  is 
the  base  of  the  color  for  the  leather;  from  Russia  the 
horse  hide,  from  which  the  leather  vamp  is  made, 
but  the  hide  travels  to  New  Jersey  to  be  tanned,  with 
bi-cromide  of  potash,  which  transforms  it,  in  a  few 
days,  into  leather  which  is  wonderfully  soft.  The 
enamel  of  this  patent-leather  which  has  the  color  of 
jet  and  the  brilliancy  of  glass,  is  obtained  by  apply- 
ing to  the  surface  a  combination  of  foreign  gums 
and  coloring  matter,  the  composition  being  lamp- 


THE   AMERICAN    SHOE  71 

black  and  turpentine  from  North  Carolina,  linseed 
oil  from  Ohio,  wood-naphtha  from  Michigan,  ben- 
zine from  Pennsylvania,  asphalt  from  South  Amer- 
ica, amber  from  the  shores  of  the  Baltic  sea,  mastic 
from  the  island  of  Scio,  Greece,  sandarac  from 
Africa,  lac  from  Cuba,  flemi  from  Asia,  darner  from 
New  Zealand,  benzoin  from  Sumatra  and  couchone 
from  South  America. 

The  insole  is  from  the  hide  of  California  cattle, 
tanned  in  that  state.  The  outsole  from  the  back  of 
a  Texas  steer,  tanned  in  Kentucky  with  bark  from 
Tennessee.  The  lifts  for  the  heel  are  from  the  skin 
of  the  Calcutta  Buffalo  of  East  India,  shipped  to  this 
country  partially  preserved  in  chenang.  These  heel- 
lifts  are  pasted  together  with  dextrine  which  is 
made  from  corn  grown  in  Illinois. 

The  twill  for  the  inside  lining  is  of  cotton,  grown 
in  Texas,  woven  in  the  looms  of  Fall  River,  Massa- 
chusetts, sent  to  Philadelphia  to  be  stiffened  with  a 
paste  made  from  flour  of  wheat  grown  in  Kansas, 
and  starch  made  from  potatoes  grown  in  Michigan. 
The  soft  felt  pad  in  the  heel  is  made  from  the  wool 
of  Ohio  sheep,  felted  in  a  New  York  town,  sent  to 
Boston  for  distribution,  and  finally  glued  in  place 
with  gum  arabie  from  Egypt. 

The  stitching  top  is  done  with  thread  spun  of  Sea 
Island  cotton.  The  heavy  oak  sole  is  stitched  to 
the  welt,  and  the  welt  to  the  insole  and  upper,  with 
linen  thread  spun  in  Scotland,  lubricated  and  made 
Stronger  with  wax  made  from  rosin  and  tar  which 
is  extracted  from  the  pine-  of  the  Carolinas. 


72        A    MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

The  cement,  which  holds  the  channel  in  which  is 
covered  the  thread  around  the  edge  of  the  sole,  is 
made  from  the  sap  of  the  rubber  tree  of  Brazil.  The 
nails  fastening  the  heel  to  the  shoe  are  made  of  iron 
ore  dug  from  the  mountains  of  Sweden,  and  a  spe- 
cial steel,  made  for  the  purpose  in  Pittsburg,  is  used 
in  making  the  nails  which  fasten  on  the  top  piece  of 
the  heel.     The  lacing  hooks  and  eyelets  are  made  by 
a   Connecticut  company,    from    a    combination   of 
zinc,  from  the  mines  of  Joplin,  and  copper  from  the 
deposits  of  that  metal  near  Lake  Superior.     These 
hooks    and    eyelets  are  covered   with  agatine,    an 
ebony-like  substance  the  ingredients  of  which  are 
from  South  America,  Asia,  and  the  United  States,  a 
combination  of  eight  distinct  materials. 

The  leather  for  the  box  toe  is  hardened  with  shellac 
which  comes  in  a  crude  state  from  Siam.  The 
tongue  is  from  the  hide  of  the  Australian  kangaroo. 
The  cork,  used  to  prevent  dampness  from  reaching 
the  foot,  is  from  the  cork-oak  tree  grown  in  the  for- 
ests of  Portugal.  The  bright  polish  of  the  sole  is 
given  by  a  coat  of  bayberry  tallow  made  from  the 
berries  of  the  bay-tree  of  India.  This  tallow  is 
mixed  with  wax  made  by  the  honey-bee,  and  turpen- 
tine. The  top  and  tongue  are  cleaned  with  traga- 
canth  from  Persia.  The  shoe  lace  is  made  from 
selected  finely-spun  cotton  thread  colored  with  log- 
wood from  Yucatan,  aniline  blacks,  and  other  in- 
gredients. The  cloth,  on  which  is  embroidered  in 
tasty  design  the  name  of  the  maker,  is  made  of  silk 
from  China.     The  straw  of  the  American  wheat- 


THE  AMERICAN  SHOE  73 

field  is  the  material  of  which  the  card-board  for  car- 
tons is  made,  and  the  cotton-wood  of  the  Missis- 
sippi delta  furnishes  the  packing  cases. 

Every  continent  of  the  earth  has  contributed  to 
this  peerless  product  of  American  brains  and  energy. 
Through  the  arteries  of  commerce,  its  one-hundred 
and  sixty-three  parts  travel  to  the  goal  of  their  final 
assembly.  In  their  long  and  varied  march  they 
traverse  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 

miles. 

This  product  not  only  represents  the  labor  of  the 
most  ingenious  machinery  ever  devised  by  man,  and 
many  American  shoe-makers,  but  the  labor  of  thou- 
sands of  all  crafts  and  all  nations.  The  animal  and 
vegetable  kingdoms  have  put  into  it  the  most  costly 
and  durable  of  their  merchandise,  each  vicing  with 
the  other  in  variety  of  gifts. 

The  American  shoe  is  one  of  the  most  wonderful 
products  of  modern  times,  and  when  Mr.  Brown 
realizes  that  all  the  elements  entering  into  its  con- 
struction arc  from  the  hand  of  God,  that  he  is  but  an 
agent  to  assemble  its  many  parts  from  all  quarters  of 
the  earth,  and  practically  combine  them  for  the  com- 
fort and  utility  of  man,  he  can  but  feel  a  grateful 
reverence  for  the  Giver  of  all  things,  and  rejoice  in 
being  an  instrument  for  carrying  out  the  purposes 
of  God  in  advancing  the  comfort  and  progress  of 
mankind. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

A  GLIMPSE   AT  ONE  OF   THE   FACTORIES. 

Some  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  the  enterprise 
built  up  by  the  genius  of  Mr.  Brown  may  be  drawn 
from  a  glance  at  one  of  the  six  factories.  The  Sun- 
light factory,  with  its  thousand  windows,  stands  alone 
in  a  block.  As  we  approach  the  immense  building 
we  note  on  a  stone  tablet  above  the  main  entrance, 
the  inscription,  "  MERIT  WINS."  On  every  floor 
stands  out  in  bold  words  where  every  operator  can 
see,  the  motto,  "KEEP  THE  QUALITY  UP." 
In  one  room  we  observed  four  hundred  pairs  of  busy 
hands  whose  deft  and  skillful  fingers  were  assisting 
the  marvelous  machinery  to  do  the  work  so  recently 
required  of  human  hands. 

Here  are  skins  from  animals  grown  in  South  Amer- 
ica, Africa,  Europe,  Mexico,  in  fact  every  country. 
Two  thousand  goats  must  be  slaughtered  each  day 
to  furnish  skins  for  this  one  factory  besides  many 
cattle,  sheep,  and  horses.  Three  thousand  yards  of 
drill  are  daily  cut  into  shoe  linings,  and  the  stitchers 
in  one  room  use  over  a  million  feet  of  thread  each 
working  day.  $12,000  are  paid  each  week  to  the 
employees,  and  all  the  artificial  light,  heat,  and  power 
used  is  generated  in  the  plant. 


74 


OS 

o 

H 

u 

< 

H 
I 
O 

J 

D 
to 

W 
S 
H 


O 

o 

X 

I 

o 

I 

U 

h 

H 
/. 

< 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

CONCENTRATION. 

A  prominent  business  man  said,  "Brown  is  the 
best  balance-wheel  in  business  that  has  ever  been 
made."  The  characteristics  that  have  produced  the 
results  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Brown  that  called  forth  this 
statement,  are  his  powers  of  concentration  and  high 
appreciation  of  its  value. 

He  met  on  the  street  an  acquaintance  who  tried  to 
interest  him  in  a  mining  proposition.  He  answered, 
"No  sir;  I  will  stick  to  the  shoe  business  and  the 
Third  Baptist  Church."  When  in  Boston,  buying 
shoes,  he  was  the  guest  of  a  friend  at  the  opera,  and, 
while  Patti,  with  her  matchless  voice,  was  holding 
the  audience  entranced  by  the  sweetness  and  pathos 
of  her  interpretation  of  "Annie  Laurie"  he  whis- 
pered to  his  friend,  "What  did  you  ask  me  for  that 
kip  brogan?"  He  enjoys  music,  has  a  keen  appre- 
ciation of  line  sentiments  beautifully  expressed,  but 
at  that  moment  brogan  shoes  had  the  right  of  way  in 
his  mind,  even   to  the  exclusion   of  the  melodies  of 

Patti's    voice. 

Concentration  is  not  only  a  hobby  of  Mr.  Brown, 
but  his  life  19  a  definition  of  the  word.  He  is  not  a 
club  man  nor  a  member  of  any  secrel  society.  The 
only  evening  of  the  week  he  spends  away  from  his 

75 


76        A    MAN   WITH   A    PURPOSE 

family,  is  the  one  at  the  midweek  prayer  meeting. 
He  refuses  to  divert  his  mind  and  energies  with  clubs, 
secret  societies,  and  social  functions.  That  part  of 
his  life  not  given  to  business  goes  to  his  family  and 
church.  His  life  is  patterned  on  the  thought  that 
the  demand  of  the  hour  is,  not  many  tilings  indifjer- 
i  nily,  but  one  thing  supremely.  He  has  learned  the 
ait  of  marshalling  his  powers  and  hurling  their 
united  forces  on  the  thing  in  hand.  His  concentra- 
tion multiplies  his  power  for  achievement  tremend- 
ously, and  makes  him  practically  irresistible  in  what 
he  undertakes. 

There  is  something  in  the  binding  together  of 
dominant  qualities  that  strengthens  the  weaker  and 
secures  their  co-operation  for  one  unwavering  aim, 
bringing  the  entire  man  in  harmony  with  his  life 
purpose.  It  is  only  by  focusing  all  our  powers  that 
we  do  great  things.  This  is  the  secret  of  achieve- 
ment. 

In  this  intensely  concentrated  age,  the  man  who 
scatters  his  efforts  cannot  hope  to  succeed.  Henry 
Van  Dyke  says, 

"Life  is  an  arrow  —  therefore  you  must  know 
What  mark  to  aim  at,  how  to  use  the  bow — 
Then  draw  it  to  the  head,  and  let  it  go." 

Buxton  goes  so  far  as  to  say,  "Concentration  alone 
conquers."  Concentration  is  a  key-note  of  the 
twentieth  century.  There  is  energy  enough  in  a 
quarter  section  of  sunshine,  if  it  could  be  concen- 
trated, to  run  all  the  machinery  of  a  continent.  The 
sun,  scattering  its  rays  over  half  the  earth  sets  nothing 


CONCENTRATION  77 

on  fire,  focus  its  arrows  of  light  with  a  burning  glass, 
and  solid  granite  is  dissolved. 

Few  things  are  so  important  to  success  as  capacity 
and  determination  to  focus  the  faculties  on  a  single 
spot.  A  thousand  bird -shot  will  often  fail  to  bring 
down  a  tiny  bird;  melt  and  cast  them  into  a  single 
bullet,  and  with  the  same  quantity  of  powder  the 
king  of  the  forest  is  brought  to  earth. 

A  scattered,  wavering  purpose  has  no  place  in  this 
century.  The  man  who  wins  has  a  goal  in  view 
and  his  purposes  are  centered  on  reaching  that  goal. 
"He  plans  his  work  thoroughly,  and  thoroughly 
works  his  plan."  He  concentrates  his  purpose  on 
reaching  a  single  object,  and  with  determination, 
makes  obstacles  stepping  stones  in  climbing  to  the 
top  of  the  hill. 

The  currents  of  true  success  are  as  certain  and 
fixed  as  the  tides  of  the  sea.     Mr.  Brown  recognizes 
that  one  of  the  elements  of  this  fixed  current  is  con- 
centration.  The  working  of  his  mind  relative  to  busi- 
ness is  a  revelation  to  his  associates  each  day.   They 
feel  the  force  of  his  tremendous  powers  of  concentra- 
tion.    It  is  almost  impossible  to  side-track  his  mind 
until  the  tiling  in  hand  is  carried  to  completion,  or  so 
shaped  that  it  will  go  forward  on  time.     He  not  only 
.  oncentratcs  his  energies  <>n  the  shoe  business  as  a 
whole,  but,    when    considering  any  detail,   his  mind 
foci]  ed   on   that   point.     Not  only   are   his  own 
thoughts  and  effort  concentrated  on  the  subject  in 
hand,  but  he  insists  that  all  who  arc  in  council  with 
him  on  the  matter  shall  give  it   their  undivided   at 


78        A    MAN    WITH  A   PURPOSE 

tendon.  In  the  weekly  meetings,  when  a  matter  is 
under  discussion,  his  eye  is  alert,  and  when  he  sees 
one  not  giving  riveted  attention,  in  a  tactful  way  he 
asks  their  views  on  the  subject,  and  all  are  made  to 
clearly  understand  that  each  one  is  expected  to  help 
solve  the  problem  in  hand. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

ATTENTION   TO   DETAIL. 

Mr.  Brown  takes  intense  pleasure  in  his  business. 
A  good  order  pleases  him  as  much  now  as  when  the 
volume  of  sales  was  measured  by  thousands  instead 
of  millions.  Nothing  a  salesmen  can  do  is  more  sure 
of  an  expression  of  appreciation  from  him  than  sell- 
ing shoes  that  are  on  the  list  to  "close  out."  He  calls 
attention  to  this  stock  in  the  weekly  letter,  and  the 
men  who  move  it  get  kindly  mention  in  what  is 
called  his  "love  letter."  At  one  time  some  six  hun- 
dred pairs  of  this  class  of  shoes  had  not  moved  as 
quickly  as  he  desired.  A  country  merchant  came  in 
and  Mr.  Brown  took  him  to  an  upper  iloor  and 
showed  him  the  shoes.  The  shoes  and  price  did  not 
seem  to  enlist  the  interest  of  the  merchant.  Mr. 
Brown  shouted,  "Fire!  Fire!  Fire!"  In  a  few  mo- 
ments there  was  a  rush  of  porters,  packers,  and 
( lerks,  with  buckets  of  water,  hose,  and  fire  extin- 
guishers. Brown  turned  to  his  customer,  and  said, 
"You  buy  these  shoes,  and  when  you  get  them  in 
your  store,  holler  fire!  and  you  will  have  all  the  peo- 
ple of  that  country  crowding  around  your  counters." 
He  made  the  sale. 

Shakespeare  is  a  wonderful  interpreter  of  the 
heart    and    the    influences    that   affect     it.     In    his 

79 


80        A   MAN   WITH  A    PURPOSE 

master  production  he  makes  Polonius  say  to  his  son 
Laertes,  who  is  starting  for  Paris: 

"Costly  thy  habit  as  thy  purse  can  buy, 

But  not  exprcss'd  in  fancy;  rich,  not  gaudy; 

For  the  apparel  oft  proclaims  the  man ; 

And  this  above  all,—  To  thine  own-self  be  true; 

And  it  must  follow,  as  the  night  the  day, 
Thou  canst  not  then  be  false  to  any  man." 

The  bard  of  Avon  is  stronger  in  expression  than 
Mr.  Brown,  but  is  not  more  thorough  in  his  knowl- 
edge of  the  advantages  of  being  well  dressed.  Mr. 
Brown  knows  that  being  well  dressed  not  only  helps 
to  secure  the  attention  and  respect  of  others,  but 
adds  to  self-respect.  He  believes  in  dress  and  is 
always  so  well  appareled  that  his  clothes  are  only 
noticeable  to  the  extent  that  he  is  a  well  dressed  man. 
At  all  times  his  linen  is  faultlessly  clean. 

His  faculty  for  detail  has  no  stronger  illustration 
than  his  insistence  that  the  men  who  represent  the 
company  shall  be  at  all  times  scrupulously  clean  in 
person  and  well  dressed.  He  considers  it  a  reflec- 
tion on  the  company  for  the  salesman,  wherever  he 
mav  be,  not  to  reflect  in  his  conduct  and  personal 
appearance  the  thoroughness  of  the  house. 

In  a  small  leather-bound  booklet  inscribed, 
"Rules  for  Salesmen,"  are  the  following  words  re- 
lative to  dress  and  person:  "Wash  your  hands  and 
face  often,  shave  every  day;  wear  good  clothes,  a  fine 
fitting  pair  of  shoes,  and  keep  them  shined;  wear 
the  best  hat  made,  and  get  a  new  one  twice  a  year." 
Lord  Barrington,  says:  "Dress  has  a  moral  effect 


ATTENTION  TO   DETAIL         Si 

on  the  conduct  of  mankind.  Let  any  gentleman 
find  himself  with  dirty  boots,  soiled  linen,  and  neck- 
cloth, and  a  general  negligence  of  dress  he  will  in 
all  probability  find  a  corresponding  disposition  of 
negligence  of  address  and  conduct." 

Mr.  Brown  is  not  a  crank  about  dress  but  he 
knows,  by  experience  and  observation,  that  a  man 
gets  along  better,  other  things  being  equal,  if  he  is 
well  dressed  and  tries,  through  the  force  of  his  ex- 
ample and  precept,  to  bring  those  associated  with 
him  up  to  his  ideals. 

One  of  the  traveling  men  was  not  succeeding. 
Discussing  the  matter,  he  said,  "What  can  be  the 
trouble  with  that  man?  It  must  be  his  clothes,  I 
have  noticed  he  always  looks  shabbily  dressed." 
"  Wire  him  to  come  in,  and  have  him  go  to  my 
tailor,  and  order  two  good  suits  of  clothes,  and  send 
the  bill  to  me!" 

Mr.  Brown's  further  attention  to  detail  is  shown 
in  the  booklet,  inscribed,   "Rules  for  Salesmen." 
"  Make  your  letters  brief  and  to  the  point." 
"Don't  waste  time  talking  to  competitors." 
"Always  leave  a  clean  duplicate  of  the  orders  you 
take,  with  your  customer." 
"DON'T  MISREPRESENT  ANYTHING." 
"NEVER  CUT  PRICES." 
"If  you  have  time,  help  your  customer.     What 
ever  helps  him  helps  you." 

"Be  friendly  and  courteous  at  all  times." 
"Go  to  church  at  least    once  every  Sunday  ami 
Contribute  half  a  dollar  to  the  service." 


82        A   MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

"Where  there  is  a  will,  there  is  a  way." 

"There  is  failure  only,  in  no  longer  trying." 

"The  power  that  comes  from  trying,  is  worth 
more  than  the  effort." 

"Work  your  territory  like  a  garden,  keeping 
all  the  weeds  out,  and  sending  us  a  big  crop  of 
sales. 

"Be  thorough  in  everything  you  do.  Thorough 
men  are  scarce  and  quickly  find  their  way  to  the 
front." 

"Pay  as  you  go  and  do  not  spend  all  you  make; 
you  will  never  amount  to  anything  if  you  do." 

These  clean  cut  sentences  stand  out  boldly  in  the 
little  book,  each  having  plenty  of  room.  In  addi- 
tion there  are  many  other  things  in  the  booklet  that 
show  a  study  of  detail  and  the  necessity  of  attention 
to  little  things  which  the  average  man  thinks  use- 
less." 

Attention  to  detail  has  been  the  ladder  on  which 
most  men  have  climbed  to  success.  It  was  a  marked 
characteristic  of  Napoleon,  Washington,  Wellington, 
Von  Moltke,  and  many  other  men  who  have  reached 
eminence.  Attention  to  detail,  little  things  studied 
and  practiced,  have  helped  to  make  the  salesmen 
representing  the  company  of  which  Mr.  Brown  is 
the  head,  one  of  the  most  representative  bodies  of 
men  in  the  United  States.  From  these  ranks  he  has 
drawn  his  lieutenants  who  have  so  ably  aided  him 
in  building  up  the  greatest  and  most  thoroughly 
organized  shoe  business  on  earth. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


BOSTON    BAKED    BEANS. 


In  1900  one  of  the  directors  of  the  company  retired, 
and  Mr.  Brown  brought  into  use  his  field-glass  in 
search  of  a  man  to  fill  the  vacant  place,  the  duties  of 
which  included  the  purchasing  of  shoes  made  in  the 
East.  In  his  survey  his  eye  rested  on  one  of  the 
most  successful  salesmen  on  the  road.  One  who 
had  built  up  a  large  trade  and  established  a  good 
home  in  the  midst  of  it.  Fourteen  years  before, 
this  man  had  resigned  the  management  of  the  cloth- 
ing department  of  a  large  retail  store  in  the  South  to 
take  a  place  on  the  road  for  the  company.  Mr. 
Brown  encouraged  him  to  buy  stock  and  furnished 
him  the  money  with  which  to  buy.  The  increase 
in  value  of  this  stock,  with  its  dividends,  and  the 
proceeds  of  his  well-directed  efforts  as  salesman, 
have  secured  to  him  a  fortune  of  more  than  $500,- 
000. 

He  was  elected  director,  with  the  duties  of  buyer. 
In  the  summer  of  1900  he  received  a  telegram  from 
Mr.  Brown,  then  in  Granville,  N.  Y.,  with  request 
to  get  invoice  of  stock  and  meet  him  in  Boston.  He 
WAS  modest  in  measuring  his  capacity  as  a  buyer  of 
shoe,  and  insisted  that  one  of  the  men,  who  had 
been  longer  in  the  house,  and  had  more  experience, 

83 


84        A   MAN   WITH   A   PURPOSE 

should  go  with  him.  The  other  directors  agreed 
that  it  would  be  to  the  interest  of  the  business  to 
comply  with  his  request. 

The  two  men  reached  Boston  in  advance  of  Mr. 
Brown  and  went  to  the  station  to  meet  him.  It  was 
a  hot  day  in  August  and  they  expected  to  take  a  car- 
riage to  the  hotel,  but  Mr.  Brown  said,  "Let  us 
walk."  They  insisted  on  carrying  his  two  grips. 
They  walked  on  the  sunny  side  of  the  street  and 
when  they  reached  the  hotel  two  of  the  three  were 
strongly  of  the  opinion  that  Boston  was  the  hottest, 
Brown's  grips  the  heaviest,  and  the  distance  to  the 
hotel  the  longest.  Going  to  their  rooms,  which 
were  adjoining,  Mr.  Brown  asked  what  they  paid 
for  them,  saying,  "I  will  try  and  get  one  just  like 
them."  He  asked  if  they  had  a  Bible  in  the  room, 
finding  none,  he  called  for  the  clerk  and  requested 
him  to  bring  a  Bible  and  keep  it  in  the  room.  He 
read  a  chapter,  and  kneeling,  offered  one  of  his 
characteristic  prayers,  praying  specially  for  the  two 
men.  He  obtained  a  promise,  of  the  new  buyer  to 
read  a  chapter  every  day  to  his  assistant.  This  prom- 
ise was  kept  during  the  month  of  their  stay  in  Boston. 
On  one  occasion  the  reader,  having  forgotten,  arose 
from  his  bed  and  performed  the  task.  One  evening 
the  party  of  three  was  taking  dinner  at  the  Turaine 
Hotel.  The  assistant  buyer,  having  heard  of  the 
famous  Boston  baked  beans,  concluded  to  try  them. 
The  beans  did  not  take  kindly  to  the  new  acquaint- 
ance and  were  so  demonstrative  of  their  dislike  that 
he  was  quite  ill  all  night.     Mr.  Brown  called  the 


BOSTON    BAKED    BEANS  85 

next  morning  at  seven-thirty,  on  his  way  to  breakfast, 
but  the  man  who  was  wrestling  with  the  beans  did  not 
follow.  Mr.  Brown  soon  came  back  for  him  and 
was  told  of  the  trouble  with  the  beans.  He  read  a 
chapter,  and  followed  with  prayer,  saying,  "O  Lord, 
Horace  ate  pork  and  beans  last  night  and  could  not 
keep  them  down.  I  have  been  coming  here  a  long 
time  and  eating  them,  they  never  made  me  sick.  I 
never  smoke." 

The  wisdom  of  Mr.  Brown's  choice  of  buyer  has 
been  demonstrated  by  the  rapidly  developed  capacity 
of  his  selection.  Their  own  factories  are  crowding 
out  Eastern  made  shoes,  the  percentage  of  purchase 
of  them  being  reduced  to  less  than  fifteen  percent, 
and  it  really  requires  greater  skill  in  buying  than 
when  the  volume  of  Eastern  made  goods  sold  was  so 
large  that  a  mistake  in  purchase  would  soon  dis- 
appear in  the  enormous  sales. 

The  man  whom  the  beans  disliked  is  now  one  of 
the  directors  of  the  company  and  fills  one  of  its  most 
important  executive  positions.  In  1872,  when  twelve 
years  old,  he  worked  in  the  office  during  school  vaca- 
tion for  the  princely  salary  of  three  dollars  per  week; 
three  years  later  he  secured  a  permanent  position  at 
thirty  a  month.  In  another  three  years  he  became  a 
house  sale-man,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty  went  on  the 
road.  His  success  can  be  appreciated  when  one 
realizes  that  bis  income  is  now  $25,000  a  year. 

In  1879  a  young  salesman,  who  had  a  fine  connec 
don  with  one  of  the  leading  hoe  manufacturing  firms 
(,f  the  East,  and  wa    doing  a  good  business,  began 


86        A   MAN  WITH  A   PURPOSE 

to  feel  the  effect  of  a  new  force  of  resistance  in  his 
battle  for  trade.     This  force  was  the  rising  young 
shoe  house  of  St.  Louis.     They  were  not  only  making 
prices  that  gave  him  trouble,  but  sending  out  good 
shoes  and  shipping  them  promptly.    He  saw  the  hand- 
writing on  the  wall,  and  his  interpretation  of  the 
words  told  him  he  must  make  the  base  of  his  supplies 
nearer  to  his  customers  if  he  would  hold  their  trade. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  severed  his  connection 
with  Boston,  hitching  his  chariot  to  a  St.  Louis  star. 
He  had  saved  no  money  and  had  given  little  thought 
to  doing  so.     A  few  weeks  after  engaging  with  Mr. 
Brown  he  received  from  him  a  stimulating  letter  in 
which  were  the  words,  "  Make  up  your  mind  to  make 
your  mark  in  St.  Louis!"     This  motto,  ringing  in 
his  ears,  gave  to  his  mind  a  purpose.    Mr.  Brown  be- 
came a  strong  influence  in  his  life,  incited  him  to  work 
and  to  save,  and  when  he  began  to  show  industry  and 
thrift,  extended  to  him  his  helping  hand.     He  is  now  a 
director  in  the  company,  manager  of  one  of  its  most 
important  departments,  the  possessor  of  a  princely  for- 
tune, and  enjoys  the  comforts  of  his  own  elegant  home 
in  one  of  the  exclusive  residence  places  of  St.  Louis. 

Mr.  Brown  has  the  faculty  of  drawing  the  best 
out  of  men,  and  wisely  anchoring  to  his  business 
men  who  succeed.  He  realizes  that  his  future  suc- 
cess depends  very  largely  on  the  prosperity  of  his 
business  associates.  His  prudence  makes  merit  the 
only  consideration  in  giving  employment  and  ad- 
vancing men.  His  own  son,  when  through  school, 
went  to  work  handling  boxes  and  worked  his  way 


BOSTON   BAKED    BEANS  87 

up,  just  as  others  did.  He  won  his  spurs  on  merit 
alone,  and  when  the  man  in  charge  of  Tennessee 
was  called  in  to  superintend  a  factory  the  son  became 
his  successor,  because  he  was  the  best  qualified 
available  man  for  the  place. 

An  active  young  man  who   had  been  selling,  with 
great  success,  a  special  line  of  shoes  in  a  territory 
covering  several  Southern  states,  was  requested  to 
call  on  Mr.  Brown,  who  offered  him  a  place  to  travel 
for  him  in  one  of  the  Northern  states.    This  offer  he 
declined  saying,  "My  trade  is  in  the  south."     He 
finally  made  a  contract  to  travel  in  a  Southern  state. 
The  first  year  he  increased  the  trade  of  the  company 
in  that  state  from  $84,00  to  $125,000  and  the  second 
year  to  $186,000.     In  January,  1904,  he  was  chosen 
superintendent  of  one  of  the  factories  at  a  salary  of 
S5,ooo  a  year.     The  first  two  years  he  turned   $78,- 
000  into  the  profit  account.  I  asked  Mr.  Brown  why 
he  selected  this  young  man  for  superintendent.   Said 
he,  "Because  he  was  a  good  salesman  and  indus- 
trious." He    had    saved    several  thousand  dollars, 
but  in  his  new  place  he  entered  an  atmosphere  of 
thrift  that  stimulated  him  to  greater  endeavor,  and 
under  the  magic  wand  of  Mr.  Brown,  he  has  in- 
creased his  fortune,  in  four  short   years,  to  many 
thousands.     He  soon  realized  that  results  were  what 
Mr.  Brown  wanted,  that  he  was  expected  to  show 
dividends.     After  turning  over  the  keys  of  the  fac- 
tory to  the  new  superintendent,  Mr.  Brown,  in  one 
of  the  weekly  meetings,  said,  "If  Harry  will  make 
good  dividend,  lie  will  have  lot-  of  friends." 


88        A    MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

In  1886  a  young  man  who  had  just  completed  his 
course  in  the  high  school  came  to  St.  Louis  and  se- 
cured a  place  with  Mr.  Brown  as  stock  clerk  at  a 
salary  of  thirty-five  dollars  per  month.  He  swept 
the  floor,  handled  the  shoe  boxes,  and  kept  the  stock 
in  order.  After  he  had  been  in  the  store  some  six 
or  eight  months  Mr.  Brown,  when  making  his  mem- 
oranda for  purchase,  would  ask  him  how  certain 
lines  were  moving,  how  many  in  stock,  how  many 
he  thought  they  would  need,  and  what  sizes,  etc. 
With  his  usual  tact  he  put  this  young  man  on  his 
mettle,  giving  him  to  understand  that  he  must  work 
with  his  head  as  well  as  his  hands,  that  he  was  a  fac- 
tor in  the  business,  and  was  expected  to  do  his  part 
in  the  work  of  its  progress.  The  second  year  he  was 
advanced  to  the  mail  order  department.  He  had 
caught  the  spirit  of  his  chief,  whose  keen  and  observ- 
ing mind  was  not  slow  to  recognize  the  young  man's 
worth.  He  was  gradually  advanced  to  the  order 
department,  of  which  he  is  manager  and  general 
salesman.  His  duties  now  require  a  number  of  as- 
sistants. He  was  encouraged  and  helped  by  Mr. 
Brown  in  purchasing  stock.  He  now  has  a  good 
fortune  with  a  large  income. 

Nothing  gives  Mr.  Brown  so  much  pleasure  as 
helping  forward  young  men  who  catch  the  spirit  of 
thrift.  Scores  of  them  have  fortunes  of  several 
hundred  thousand  dollars  resultant  from  ingrafting 
into  their  lives  his  spirit  and  methods,  and  being 
stirred  by  the  force  of  his  life. 


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CHAPTER  XX. 

THE     WEEKLY     LETTER. 

On  Friday  of  each  week  at  1:30  p.  m.  sharp,  the 
directors,  superintendents  of  the  factories,  heads  of 
departments,  and  salesmen,  if  in  the  city,  assemble 
in  the  directors  room  on  the  ninth  floor  of  the  store. 
Here  every  feature  of  the  business  is  scanned.  If  a 
weak  spot  is  found,  the  search-light  of  every  mind  is 
thrown  upon  it  and  every  brain  is  taxed  to  strengthen 
the  weak  point.  Here  the  heads  of  departments 
meet,  and  in  exchange  of  ideas  the  viewpoint  of  each 
one  is  broadened,  and  his  vision  being  extended  be- 
yond the  narrow  limits  of  his  own  sphere,  he  grasps 
the  broad  sweep  of  the  work  in  hand. 

Here  the  brightest  and  strongest  minds  connected 
with  the  corporation  meet,  and  the  discussions 
evoked  by  questions  arising  strike  the  lire  in  each 
one,  and  bring  out  the  best  that  is  in  him.  When 
men  who  are  aflame  with  one  intense  pur|>ose  meet, 
they  strike  fire  from  soul  to  soul  and  help  one  an- 
other in  climbing  to  the  mountain  top  of  their  en- 
deavor.  Momentum  comes  with  organized  numbers 
and  in  these  meetings  are  kindled  fresh  enthusiasm, 
higher  purpc.se,  greater  power.  This  multiplied 
strength  of  numbers,  here  stimulated  to  unite  on  a 

purpose,  gives  the  greal  businessa  momentum  that 


9o        A    MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

overcomes  every  obstacle  that  crosses  the  path  of  its 
progress. 

It  is  in  separation  we  lose  power.  Lifeless  tapers, 
heaped  close  together,  will  kindle  one  another,  and 
a  ilamc  will  sparkle  beneath  the  white  ashes;  fling 
them  apart,  they  go  out;  rake  them  together  they 
glow. 

The  company  of  shoe  men  marshalled  under  the 
leadership  of  Mr.  Brown  are  not  little  feeble  tapers 
stuck  in  separate  sockets,  twinkling  a  struggling  ray 
over  a  little  individual  space,  but  a  great  organized 
force  that  shines  with  enthusiasm,  that  glows  with 
united  purpose. 

At  these  meetings  the  genius  of  Mr.  Brown  is 
apparent.  If  he  thinks  some  policy  is  wrong  and 
needs  correction,  he  adroitly  draws  out  the  views  of 
the  different  men  in  the  council,  finds  those  who 
are  for  and  against,  and  in  a  tactful  way  gets  them 
to  battling.  He  takes  but  little  part.  When  the 
matter  has  been  threshed  out  thoroughly  he  helps 
to  bring  about  a  decision.  Although  a  man  of  pur- 
pose, his  mind  is  receptive,  ready,  and  alert  to  absorb 
the  best  that  comes  to  it,  even  if  in  doing  so  he  de- 
stroys a  pet  ideal.  In  laying  his  plans  before  the 
meeting  he  encourages  criticism,  he  wants  them 
sifted,  every  weak  point  eliminated,  and  if  possible 
a  better  substituted. 

At  these  meetings  the  weekly  letter  is  read  and 
discussed,  the  letter  which  goes  to  all  the  salesmen 
throughout  the  United  States.  It  contains  all  the 
secrets  of  the  company.     Also  a  review  of  the  busi- 


THE   WEEKLY    LETTER  91 

ness  of  the  past  week.  It  includes  the  complaints 
and  the  words  of  commendation  and  encourage- 
ment. It  suggests  changes  and  advances  new  ideas; 
it  takes  up  questions  that  confront  them,  and  sug- 
gests ways  for  meeting  difficulties,  present  and 
future.  This  frank,  open  and  above-board  way  of 
writing  to  the  salesmen,  secures  their  hearty  co- 
operation and  confidence,  and  is  a  source  of  power. 
All  the  strength  of  these  meetings  is  not  represented 
by  those  present,  but  the  best  ideas  that  can  be  gar- 
nered by  the  salesmen  in  all  parts  of  the  country 
come  in  letters  before  the  meeting.  The  sugges- 
tions are  sifted,  the  pearls  appropriated,  and  become 
an  asset  of  the  company. 

The  weekly  letter  of  December  8,  1905,  reads, 
"Nothing  great  was  ever  achieved  without  enthu- 
siasm." This  is  followed  by  a  brief  paragraph  of 
congratulations  on  past  business,  coupled  with  a 
bright  picture  for  the  future.  "The  money  for  the 
tremendous  crop  will  go  to  the  country,  and  the 
people  will  wear  better  shoes  and  warmer  clothing 
than  ever  before,  and  more  of  them.  With  $500,000 
gain  in  advance  orders  over  last  year,  is  their  any 
reason  why,  with  the  shoes  we  have,  the  organiza- 
tion to  sell  them,  and  the  enthusiasm  which  prevails, 
we  should  not  reach  $12,000,000  the  coming  year  ?" 

"TWELVE  MILLION  IS  THE  CRY  FOR 

1906." 

1  What  do  we  want  ?  We  wish  each  salesman  to 
write  letters  to  the  superintendent--  of  the  different 
factories,  giving  hi^  best  ideas  and  suggestions  on 


92        A   MAN   WITH   A   PURPOSE 

the  new  fall  line.  We  do  not  want  a  single  exception. 
These  letters  will  be  read,  and  carefully  read,  and 
the  best  will  be  extracted  from  them  and  introduced 
into  our  new  fall  line.  You  gentlemen  are  in  the 
field,  coming  into  competition  with  the  best  lines  in 
the  United  States,  seeing  what  other  people  are  doing 
every  day,  and  how  they  are  doing  it.  We  want  you 
to  convey  the  best  you  see  and  hear  to  the  company. 
We  expect  every  man  to  write  these  letters.  You  are 
all  stockholders,  you  are  the  company  on  the  ground. 
Keep  wide  awake  in  looking  after  your  own  interest." 
With  the  best  things  these  alert  minds  can  origi- 
nate and  glean  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  they  meet  the  demands  of  an  exact- 
ing public. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

GOOD  CHEER. 

When  taking  lunch  one  day  at  the  Mercantile  Club 
with  one  of  the  directors,  they  discussed  a  certain  shoe 
which  had  recently  been  put  on  the  market  by  an 
Eastern  firm.  When  through  lunch  Mr.  Brown  gave 
his  son,  Alanson  Jr.,  a  lad  of  twelve,  some  money, 
and  told  him  to  go  to  the  Famous  and  get  a  pair  of 
the  shoes  and  bring  them  to  the  store.  The  boy  had 
other  plans,  and  started  on  the  errand  with  a  gloomy 
frown.  His  father  called  to  him,  "Alanson,  if  you 
see  any  smiles  down  there,  you  buy  one." 

Ella  Wheeler  Wilcox  says,  "Laugh,  and  the  world 
laughs  with  you,  Weep,  and  you  weep  alone."  Good 
cheer  discerns  the  good  and  creates  an  atmosphere 
of  good  will.  It  sees  glory  in  the  grass,  the  sunshine, 
and  the  flowers;  it  encourages  joyous  thoughts,  and 
lives  in  an  atmosphere  of  hope;  it  blesses  its  pos- 
sessor  and  scatters  sunshine  in  the  hearts  of  others. 
Even  sorrows  to  the  man  of  good  cheer  are  linked 
with  joys  and  his  very  tears  are  sweet. 

Mr.  Brown  ha>  not  a  morose  spirit  that  requires 
the  companionship  of  others,  social  excitement,  or 
jest  to  produce  :i  -mile,  but  a  spirit  of  chcerfulm  is 
that  is  permanent.  One  that  is  joyous  with  gratitude 
and  deep  appreciation  of  Cod's  blessings. 

93 


94         A   MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

Cheerfulness  is  an  excellent  wearing  quality.  It 
has  been  called  the  bright  weather  of  the  heart.  It 
gives  harmony  to  the  soul  and  is  a  perpetual  song 
without  words.  One  is  scarcely  sensible  to  fatigue 
when  marching  to  the  step  of  music.  The  very  stars 
are  said  to  make  harmony  as  they  revolve  in  their 
spheres.  To  be  permanently  useful  a  man  must 
carry  a  spirit  of  sunshine,  grateful  with  gladness, 
beautiful  because  bright. 

Good  cheer  is  a  promoter  of  health.  Addison 
says,  "Health  and  cheerfulness  mutually  beget  each 
other,  we  seldom  meet  a  great  degree  of  health  that 
is  not  attended  with  a  certain  cheerfulness." 

Cheerfulness  conduces  to  happiness  and  secures 
universal  favor  and  good  will.  A  cheerful  temper 
makes  beauty  attractive,  knowledge  delightful,  and 
wit  good  natured.  Smiles  says,  "Cheerfulness  and 
diligence  are  nine-tenths  of  wisdom." 

Large  comprehensive  natures  are  generally  cheer- 
ful, hopeful,  trustful.  The  wise  man  of  large  vision 
discerns  the  sunshine  gleaming  through  the  darkest 
clouds.  Without  cheerfulness  the  sunshine  of  life 
is  not  felt,  flowers  bloom  in  vain,  the  marvels  of 
heaven  and  earth  are  not  seen  or  acknowledged, 
and  all  nature  is  but  a  dreary  blank. 

While  cheerfulness  is  a  great  source  of  profit  in 
business,  and  enjoyment  in  life,  it  is  also  a  safe- 
guard of  character.  A  writer  on  "how  to  overcome 
temptation,"  says,  "Cheerfulness  is  the  first  thing, 
cheerfulness  is  the  second,  and  cheerfulness  is  the 
third."     Cheerfulness  furnishes  the  best  soil  for  the 


GOOD    CHEER  95 

growth  of  virtue.  It  gives  brightness  of  heart  and 
elasticity  of  spirit.  It  was  Jesus  who  said,  "Be  of 
good  cheer." 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

FRUGAL   THRIFT. 

When  Mr.  Brown  was  a  lad  his  habits  of  frugal 
thrift  were  pronounced.  He  was  working  in  the 
field  with  a  hired  man,  who  frequently  indulged  in 
a  spree,  and  had  just  sobered  up  from  a  debauch  to 
realize  that  all  his  cash  was  gone.  He  said  to  young 
Brown,  "  You  will  never  be  a  drunkard,  you  are  too 
tight."  The  principles  of  religion  and  morals  had 
been  instilled  into  young  Brown  by  his  parents  and 
these  are  mighty  allies  of  economy.  Vice  costs  more 
than  virtue.  Beyond  what  is  necessary  for  bodily 
needs  every  dollar  spent  for  the  body  is  derogatory 
to  manhood.  When  a  young  man's  morals  and 
frugal  spirit  close  his  purse  strings  to  expenditures 
for  whiskey  and  tobacco,  he  has  a  possession  which 
enables  him  to  laugh  at  the  witty  jests  of  the  dis- 
solute hired  man.  Besides,  the  spirit  that  enforces 
economy  as  to  self-indulgence  by  its  restraint  of 
destroying  passions  helps  to  success  by  helping  to 
health.     "Righteousness  tendcth  to  life." 

The  essence  of  thrift  consists  in  getting  things 
into  higher  values.  It  is  forethought,  a  process  of 
saving  for  future  use;  it  involves  judicious  spending. 
Without  thrift  a  man  cannot  be  generous;  he  cannot 
take  part  in  the  charitable  work  of  the  world.     If 

96 


FRUGAL    THRIFT  97 

he  spends  all  he  earns,  he  cannot  help  others.  The 
spendthrift  is  sometimes  called  generous  by  the  un- 
thinking. But  the  man  who  is  not  thrifty  and  keenly 
alive  to  his  business  interests,  or  who  indulges  in 
extravagance  and  profligacy,  rarely  has  either  means 
or  disposition  to  be  generous.  It  was  frugal  thrift 
that  enabled  Elihu  Yale,  John  Harvard,  Nicoholas 
Brown,  Stephen  Girard,  Peter  Cooper,  George  Pea- 
body,  Ezra  Cornell,  and  men  of  that  class  to  do 
deeds  that  placed  their  names  high  in  the  list  of  the 
noble  of  earth. 

Frugal  thrift  fosters  virtue  and  antagonizes  vice. 
It  makes  soil  and  atmosphere  for  healthy  growth, 
and  waters  the  tree  of  manhood.  The  men  who,  by 
honest  thrift,  get  away  from  poverty,  increase  their 
usefulness  and  are  stronger,  better  men,  other  things 
being  equal.  Burns  makes  the  prelate  write  to  his 
young  friend, 

"To  catch  Dame  Fortune's  golden  smile 
Assidous  wait  upon  her; 
And  gather  gear  by  ev'ry  wile 
That's  justified  by  honor; 
\'ot  for  to  hide  it  in  a  hedge, 
Nor  for  a  train  attendant, 
But  for  the  glorious   privilege 
<  )f  being  independent." 

It  is  impossible  for  us  to  be  our  full  self  without 
money  in  our  purse.  It  not  only  gives  independence 
that  is  necessary  to  success,  but  it  commands  the 
r<  -]><•<  t  and  sen  i<  es  of  others.     It  we  have  one  dollar 

in  our  pocket,  the  world  is  cur  -lave  and  will  do  our 


98        A   MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

bidding  to  the  extent  of  that  dollar.  The  man  who 
by  honest  thrift  accumulates  money,  is  better  able 
to  improve  and  cultivate  his  mind,  care  for  his  body, 
and  do  good  to  his  fellowman. 

In  the  twentieth  century,  other  things  being  equal, 
the  men  of  substance  are  the  stronger  forces  in  the 
progress  of  the  world.  The  building  of  houses,  of 
mills,  bridges,  railroads,  steamships,  telegraph,  and 
telephone  systems,  and  other  great  things  that  are 
conducive  to  civilization,  have  been  done  by  the 
frugal  and  thrifty.  The  laws  of  nature  have  made 
it  so. 

There  is  no  chance  in  thrift,  its  central  idea  is 
order.  Speculation  makes  the  few  rich  and  the 
many  poor.  Thrift  divides  the  prizes  of  life  among 
those  who  deserve  them.  Mr.  Brown  has  not  built 
up  his  fortune  by  speculation.  His  actions  in  get- 
ting have  been  on  the  noble  lines  of  frugal  thrift, 
free  from  parsimony. 


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CHAPTER  XXIII. 

CLEAN   AND   CHASTE. 

The  continued  growth  of  the  business  led  its  saga- 
cious leader  to  forecast  the  future  and  prepare  for 
expansion.  In  none  of  his  important  moves  is  there 
a  finer  illustration  of  his  judgment  than  in  the  pur- 
chase of  the  southeast  corner  of  Twelfth  and  Wash- 
ington avenue  for  a  distributing  center.  He  erected 
on  this  corner  one  of  the  most  perfectly  appointed 
store  buildings  in  the  United  States,  and  to  this 
place  the  company  moved  January  i,  1899. 

The  business  had  grown  to  such  magnitude  that, 
to  the  average  man,  it  would  have  brought  physical 
collapse;  but  Mr.  Brown  had  developed  with  the 
enterprise  and,  while  he  has  none  of  the  egotism 
which  makes  small  men  ridiculous,  he  possesses  that 
consciousness  of  power  which,  in  men  of  high  order, 
is  prophetic  of  success. 

The  business  has  expanded  from  two  floors  of  a 
small  store  twenty  five  by  forty  feet,  all  the  work 
being  done  by  less  than  a  dozen  men,  to  this  immense 

■  re  and  six  large  factories  which  require  the  labor 
Of  five  thousand  people,  and  machinery  which  does 
the  work  of  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  pairs  of 
human  hands.     But  Mr.  Brown  has  laid  the  founda 
tion  so  solidly,  and  30  thoroughly  ingrafted  his  spirit 

99 


ioo        A   MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

and  methods  into  his  lieutenants  and  employees,  that 
the  great  business  moves  forward  with  clock-work 
precision,  and  is  apparently  less  burden  to  him  than 
when  in  the  little  store  at  106  Locust  street. 

Sydney  Smith  said,  ' '  Daniel  Webster  was  a  steam 
engine  in  breeches."  This  description  fits  Mr. 
Brown,  yet  he  preserves  his  poise,  holds  his  im- 
mense interests  calmly  in  hand,  and  withal  is  so 
rigid  and  respectful  in  the  treatment  of  his  body  that 
it  readily  responds  to  the  activities  of  his  mind. 

Mr.  Brown  in  a  tactful  way  urges  his  associates  to 
take  proper  care  of  the  body,  and  his  life  is  in  har- 
mony with  what  he  advocates  in  others.  That 
which  he  enjoins  others  to  do,  he  does;  what  he 
advises  others  to  become,  he  is.  He  is  essentially 
practical.  His  life  is  a  living  demonstration  of  what 
he  thinks  is  right  and  best.  He  gives  himself  to  his 
ideal  and  makes  his  ideal  his  life  purpose.  He  be- 
lieves that  with  proper  care  the  body  will  be  a  perfect 
instrument  and  perfectly  perform  its  every  function. 
He  scrupulously  uses  the  means  of  maintaining  a 
good  physique.  He  often  refers  to  and  keeps  the 
maxim  of  John  Wesley,  "Cleanliness  is  indeed  next 
to  Godliness. ' '  He  puts  his  body  in  perfect  trim  be- 
fore leaving  his  room  in  the  morning.  What  he  eats  is 
not  governed  by  the  variety  of  tempting  viands  placed 
before  him,  but  by  that  which  is  most  conducive 
to  the  physical  man.  As  a  result  of  self  control,  he 
goes  to  his  business  with  the  buoyancy  of  glowing 
health  and  a  face  beaming  with  cheer  and  content. 

Mr.  Brown  not  only  advocates  keeping  the  body 


CLEAN   AND   CHASTE  101 

clean  with  water,  but  chaste  in  purity.  False  modesty 
does  not  stop  his  straightforward  practical  tongue 
from  earnestly  urging  personal  purity  in  the  lives  of 
the  men  associated  with  him. 

Purity  in  thought  and  life  is  essential  to  greatness, 
and  this  virtue  is  so  important  to  society  and  busi- 
ness, that  the  wise  pagan,  as  well  as  the  Christian, 
makes  it  an  axiom  in  his  teaching.  A  man  should  be 
as  clean  inwardly,  as  a  perfect  gentleman  seeks  to  be 
outwardly.  One's  aim  in  life  should  not  only  be  to 
correct  commercial,  educational,  and  social  mis- 
takes, but  to  eradicate  all  unclean  thoughts  and 
actions.  This  Mr.  Brown  believes  can  be  done  by 
taking  Jesus  for  a  partner.  He  believes  that  per- 
sonal purity  lies  at  the  very  foundation  of  success; 
that  a  gentleman  will  keep  his  heart  pure;  that  purity 
is  an  unmistakable  sign  of  character. 

Purity  attracts,  it  wins,  it  ennobles.  It  is  more 
important  that  a  man  be  clean  within  than  without. 
The  influences  that  make  for  right  living  and  noble 
manhood  do  not  dwell  with  impure  souls  nor  keep 
company  with  base  thoughts  or  low  motives. 

A  man  must  cherish  purity  if  he  would  be  tilled 
with  the  forces  that  make  for  true  success.  No 
equipment  will  help  more  in  achieving  than  clean- 
liness in  thought  and  deed.  Impurity  robs  us 
of  strength  and  courage.  Why  should  a  man  do 
that  which  robs  him  of  Cod  given  strength?  Why 
hould  he  indulge  in  impure  desires  and  go  through 
life  shorn  of  physical  strength  and  moral  courage? 

The  Bible  injunction,  "  Keep  thyself  pure,"  is  the 
besl  plank  in  the  business  platform. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

ELEMENTS   THAT   MAKE   FOR   TRUE   SUCCESS. 

I  addressed  the  following  letter  to  a  number  of 
personal   friends : 

Delmar  Study,  St.   Louis,  Jan.   24,  '06. 
My  Dear  Sir: 

I  am  preparing  for  the  press  a  volume,  the  purpose  of 
which  is  to  stimulate  men,  especially  young  men,  to  greater 
endeavor  for  achieving  success  in  its  broadest,  and  best  sense. 
I  should  like  an  expression  as  to  the  elements  that  make 
for  true  success  from  a  few  leading  men  whose  experience 
entitles  them  to  speak,  and  whose  success  will  give  weight  to 
what  they  say. 

Will  you  kindly  write  in  answer  to  this  request? 
Sincerely  yours, 

John  T.  M.  Johnston. 

The  following  replies  were  received  in  answer  to 
the  above  letter: 

Hon.   F.   M.  Cockrell,   thirty    years    United  States 
Senator : 

Heed  conscience  ever  present  to  approve  the  right  and 
condemn  the  wrong. 

Be  honest,  truthful,  industrious,  persevering,  and  laudably 
ambitious  to  excel  in  every  work,  however  insignificant,  or 
important. 

Maintain  unswerving  faith  in  the  wisdom  of  the  policy  and 
practice  of  doing  right. 

102 


ELEMENTS   THAT   MAKE   SUCCESS     103 

Dr.  W.  H.  P.  Faunce,  President  Brown  University, 

Providence,  R.  I.  : 

The  secret  of  success  lies  not  in  extraordinary  ability, 
which  comparatively  few  can  possess,  but  in  the  simple 
homely  qualities  which  all  may  possess  if  they  will.  Courage, 
patience,  accuracy,  diligence,  and  worth. 

Better  a  pound  of  fidelity  than  a  ton  of  genius.  Better  a 
little  star  that  shines  steadily  than  a  shower  of  meteors  that 
flash  and  disappear. 

Samuel    Cupples,    Merchant    and    Philanthropist, 

St.  Louis: 

Care  in  selecting  associates.  Having  determined  upon  a 
vocation  in  life,  enter  upon  it  with  the  determination  to  make 
it  a  success. 

Be  honest  and  truthful  in  all  dealings,  and  recognize  one's 
obligation  to  God  and  fellow-man. 

Festus  J.  Wade,  Pres.   Mercantile  Trust  Company, 

St.  Louis: 

First,  Love  of  God;  second,  Self-respect;  third,  Love  of 
family;  fourth,  Rugged  honesty;  fifth,  Total  abstinence;  sixth, 
Tireless  energy. 

John  Wanamaker,  Merchant,  Philadelphia: 

The  best  furnishings  for  a  successful  life  arc  such  as  can 
be  carried  in  the  brain  —  with  something  in  the  eyes  and 
fingers— rather  than  a  large  inheritance  in  money  and  lands. 

Hon.  Champ  Clark,  Member  of  Congress: 

In  my  judgment  the  only  success  worth  counting  in  this  life 
comes  from  courage,  industry,  honesty  of  purpose,  honesty 
of  deed,  and  a  determination  not  only  to  help  one's  self,  but 
to  help  all  God's  children. 

Albert  J.  Beveridge,  V.  S.  Senator. 

"  Then-  i    DO  magic  but  merit." 


io4        A   MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

Murray   Carleton,  Pros.  Carleton,  Drygoods  Com- 
pany, St.  Louis: 

Possessing  intrinsic  worth,  neither  fortune  nor  success  in 
life  is  denied  the  young  man  of  average  ability  who  has  capa- 
city for  hard  work;  the  courage  to  live  within  his  means; 
and  an  honest  desire  to  excel  in  the  discharge  of  duty. 

L.  C.  Burncs,  Pres.  Burnes  National  Bank,  St.  Joseph: 

A  resolute  purpose,  a  definite  plan  of  action  ,  and  working 
out  the  plan.  These  count  for  success  in  professional,  and 
business  affairs,  as  well  as  in  social,  and  religious  life. 

Hon.  Albert  Spicer,  Member   Parliament,  London: 

Purpose,  system,  true  to  God,  to  self  and  to  all  men. 

Paul  Brown,  Vice  President  Mercantile  Trust  Com- 
pany, St.  Louis: 

The  first  plank  in  the  platform  of  true  success,  is  "Honor." 
If  a  young  man  starts  on  the  platform  of  honor,  every  deal 
he   makes  will   advertise   him. 

The  second  plank,  "Industry."  He  must  be  industrious 
to  make  headway,  and  one  of  the  best  ways  to  advertise  his 
industry  is  by  cleanliness. 

The  third,  "Economy."  He  must  be  economical  with- 
out being  penurious. 

Take  a  young  man  of  good  health  and  let  him  stand  on 
the  platform  of  honor,  industry,  and  economy.  He  will 
succeed. 

John  E.  Franklin,Capitalist  and  Banker,  Frederick- 
town,  Mo. : 

Honesty,  industry,  a  definite  purpose  in  life;  an  eye  to  see 
and  a  courage  to  seize  opportunity. 

E.  P.  Melson,  Pres.  Missouri  State  Life  Insurance 
Company,  St.  Louis: 
A  love  for  God  and  man.     Habits,  conducive  to  health, 


ELEMENTS   THAT   MAKE   SUCCESS     105 

happiness  and  longevity  coupled  with  constant  well  directed 
efforts  concentrated  on  a  given  purpose,  with  a  determina- 
tion to   succeed,  will  enable  the  possessor  to  do  anything  in 
the  bounds  of  reason. 
E.  W.  Stephens  Publisher  and  Journalist,  Columbia, 

Mo.: 

Hard  work,  decision,  originality,  punctuality,  concen- 
tration, system,  persistence,  tact,  integrity,  judgment,  self- 
control,  purpose,  faithful  devotion  to  every  duty,  love  of  God 
and  love  of  man  —  all  these  are  essential  to  highest  success. 

Tom  Randolph,  Pres.  Commonwealth  Trust  Com- 
pany, St.  Louis: 

Keep  your  shield  of  honor  bright.  Stick  to  it  and  do  not  be 
afraid  of  work.  Use  common  "black  land  sense  "  and  remember 
that,  "To  him  who  is  determined  it  remains  but  to  act." 

The  young  man  who  reaches  his  business  first  in  the  morn- 
ing and  is  the  last  to  leave,  and  never  leaves  "his  axe  in  the 
air"  other  things  being  equal  is  surest  of  promotion. 

If  expressed  in  one  word  I  should  say,  "stick-to-itiveness." 

L.  S.  Parker,  Capitalist  (retired  shoe  manufac- 
turer), Jefferson  City: 

The  Basal  elements  of  true  success  are,  a  spirit  of  rev- 
erence for  God,  habits  of  temperance  and  industry,  and  a 
constant  ambition  to  excel. 

If  a  manufacturer,  first,  let  him  thoroughly  acquaint  him- 
self with  the  business,  not  only  in  general  outline,  but  in 
detail;  second,  determine  to  make  good  goods,  the  reputa- 
tion of  which  will  be  cumulative  as  the  years  go  by;  third, 
give  his  affairs  his  individual,  personal  attention;  fourth, 
while  at  all  times  reasonably  conservative,  be  on  the  alert  to 
take  advantage  of  opportunities  for  enlarging  the  business; 
fifth,  look  well  to  the  character  of  the  assistants  with  whom 
he  surrounds  himself;  sixth,  guard  against  m 

If  the  last  quoted  man  had  made  a  study  of  Mr. 


iot>        A   MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

Brown  he  could  not  have  drawn  a  more  perfect  por- 
trait. He  is  the  living  embodiment  of  every  sugges- 
tion made  by  Mr.  Parker.  Mr.  Brown's  life  empha- 
sizes every  essential  mentioned  by  these  men,  whose 
characters  and  success  entitle  them  to  be  heard. 
Their  very  names  are  synonyms  for  success,  in  its 
highest,  and  best  sense. 

Industry  though  not  mentioned  by  all,  is  implied  in 
the  words  of  each.  Industry  is  so  strongly  empha- 
sized in  the  life  of  A.  D.  Brown,  that  it  has  been  a 
matter  of  comment  since  he  was  a  schoolboy.  The 
following  letter  was  received  from  his  last  school 
teacher: 

North  Granville,  N.  Y.,  November  16,  1905. 
Dr.  John  T.  M.  Johnston, 

Dear  Sir: — 

In  answer  to  your  request  for  my  recollections  of  A.  D. 
Brown,  I  well  remember  him  in  the  early  sixties  as  one  of  my 
pupils. 

He  was  fortunate  in  three  generations  of  his  ancestry  on 
both  sides.  They  were  noted  for  being  among  the  best  fami- 
lies of  the  county,  intellectually,  morally,  and  religiously. 

While  in  my  academy  he  behaved  well.  My  standing 
rule  of  behavior  was  "Do  unto  others,  as  you  would  have 
others  do  unto  you."    He  easily  obeyed  this  rule. 

I  remember  him  as  very  industrious,  and  fond  of  mental 
arithmetic.  Was  excellent  in  his  recitations,  exceptionally 
so  for  a  boy  of  sixteen. 

I  met  Mr.  Kincaid  with  whom  Alanson  engaged  as  clerk 

soon  after  leaving  my  school.     Speaking  of  him  he  said,  "He 

was  remarkably  industrious,  faithful,  and  honest.     I  never 

saw  a  better  boy." 

Yours  truly, 

Charles  L.  Mason. 


ELEMENTS  THAT  MAKE  SUCCESS      107 

Professor  Mason  is  a  retired  educator,  now  eighty 
years  old,  yet  remarkably  well  preserved  physically, 
with  a  mind  as  clear  as  at  any  period  of  his  life. 

In  the  language  of  one  of  his  business  associates, 
11  Mr.  Brown  is  so  industrious  that  a  drone  can't  live 
with  him. ' '  Work  creates  a  contagion,  and  in  such 
an  atmosphere  the  weak  develop  strength  and  the 
strong  are  made  stronger.  In  passing  through  one  of 
Mr.  Brown's  factories,  I  said,  "  They  are  as  busy  as 
bees."  He  replied,  "  There  is  so  much  animal  in 
us  we  have  to  keep  busy  to  keep  out  of  devilment. 
Idleness  is  apt  to  throw  one  into  the  company  of 
those  who  spend  their  time  in  the  pursuit  of  unwhole- 
some and  demoralizing  diversions.  Work  develops 
the  good  in  man,  idleness  the  evil;  work  sharpens 
the  faculties  in  man,  and  makes  him  thrifty;  idleness 
makes  him  lazy  and  a  spendthrift. 

There  is  no  truer  saying  than,  "  An  idle  brain  is 
the  devil's  work  shop."  Goethe  says,  "Nature 
knows  no  pause  and  attaches  a  curse  upon  all  inac- 
tion." Sir.  Walter  Scott,  writing  to  his  son  at  school 
said:  "  I  cannot  too  much  impress  upon  your  mind 
that  labor  is  a  condition  that  God  has  imposed  upon 
US  in  every  relation  of  life;  there  is  nothing  worth  hav- 
ing that  can  be  had  without  it.  As  for  knowledge,  it 
can  no  more  be  planted  in  the  human  mind  without 
labor,  than  a  field  of  wheat  can  be  produced  without 
the  plow.  If  we  neglect  our  spring,  our  summer  will 
be  useless  and  contemptible,  our  harvest  will  be 
chaff,  and  the  winter  of  our  old  age,  unresj.e.  ted  and 

de  olate." 


io8        A   MAN    WITH  A   PURPOSE 

Epcs  Sargent  says:  "A  rich  man  who  did  not 
think  it  respectable  to  bring  up  his  children  to  work 
has  just  heard  from  his  three  sons.  One  is  a  driver 
on  the  towpath  of  a  canal,  another  has  been  arrested 
as  a  vagrant,  and  the  third  has  gone  to  a  certain  insti- 
tution  to  learn  to  hammer  stone  under  a  keeper." 

No  greater  misfortune  can  befall  a  young  man  in 
the  prime  and  vigor  of  life,  than  to  be  exempt  from 
life 's  burdens  and  duties,  and  allowed  to  eat  the  bread 
earned  by  the  sweat  of  another's  brow.  The  man 
who  does  nothing  to  add  to  the  treasures  of  the  world, 
becomes  a  curse  to  himself,  his  family,  and  friends. 

One  of  England's  old  laws  reads:  "  If  a  man  be 
endicted  for  wandering,  idleness,  or  loitering,  and 
found  guilty,  he  shall  have  judgment  to  suffer  pains 
and  execution  of  death  as  a  felon  and  as  an  enemy  of 
the  commonwealth. ' '  Idleness  was  also  a  punish- 
able crime  in  Athens.  Her  citizens  were  not  only 
compelled  to  industry,  but  to  the  utmost  exertion  of 
their  talents. 

Lord  Chesterfield  wrote  his  son,  "I  look  upon  idle- 
ness as  a  sort  of  suicide,  for  by  it  the  man  is  effectively 
destroyed,  although  the  appetite  of  the  brute  may 
survive. ' ' 

It  is  better  to  carry  a  hod  or  wield  a  shovel  in  some 
honest  endeavor  to  be  of  use  in  the  world's  work, 
than  to  be  nursed  in  luxury.  The  man  who  inducts 
into  his  children  habits  of  industry  bestows  upon 
them  a  far  richer  heritage  than  that  of  a  fortune  in 
money  and  lands. 

The  myriad  minded  Shakespeare,  who  opened  the 


ELEMENTS  THAT  MAKE   SUCCESS   109 

secrets  of  the  heart  and  gave  to  the  world  its  richest 
legacy  of  literature,  makes  industry  the  parent  of 
honor: 

"Shortly  his  fortune  shall  be  lifted  higher; 
True  industry  doth  kindle  honour's  fire." 

Versatile  Ben  Jonson  writes: 

"Virtue  though  chained  to  earth,  will  still  live  free, 
All,  hell  itself  must  yield  to  industry." 

And  our  own  sweet  Alice  Cary  says, 

'Work,  and  your  house  shall  be  duly  fed; 
Work  and  rest  shall  be  won; 
I  hold,  that  man  had  better  be  dead 
Than  alive  when  his  work  is  done." 

Carlyle  declares  that,  "  Modern  majesty  consists  in 
work.  What  a  man  can  do  is  his  greatest  ornament, 
and  he  always  consults  his  dignity  by  doing  it. " 

The  life  of  A.  D.  Brown  does  its  greatest  good  for 
humanity  through  the  force  of  his  example  of  untir- 
ing industry  and  opening  opportunities  to  others.  In 
no  observations  of  him  was  I  so  impressed  with 
the  magnitude  of  his  uplift,  as  when  I  spent  a  day  go- 
ing through  his  great  factories,  where  I  saw  five  thou 
sand  pairs  of  busy  hands  all  directed  by  a  cheerful 
spirit  that  seemed  to  say: 

"  Kmploymcnt,  Employment, 
<  )h,  that  is  enjoyment; 

There's  nothing  like  something  to  do, 
Good  heart  occupation 
h  health  ami  salvation  — 

\    >■(  n-i  that*    known  to  bill  few  " 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

IMPORT   DUTY   ON   HIDES. 

In  November,  1905,  a  committee  of  leading  shoe 
men  of  the  United  States  met  in  Washington  to  coun- 
sel with  one  another,  and  confer  with  the  President, 
regarding  the  import  duty  on  hides.  I  quote  from  a 
report  of  the  meeting: 

"A.  D.  Brown  compliments  the  President,  on  his 
endeavor  to  give  all  a  square  deal." 

"  At  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Ford's  remarks,  Gov- 
ernor Douglas  presented  Mr.  A.  D.  Brown  of  St. 
Louis,   who   addressed    the    President    as    follows: 

"  Mr.  President, — If  hides  are  allowed  to  come 
into  the  United  States,  free  of  duty,  the  poor  soles 
that  are  now  being  put  on  shoes  can  be  made  better. 
The  first  part  of  a  shoe,  usually,  to  give  out  is  the  sole. 

"We  have  about  five  thousand  people  making 
shoes,  turning  out  thirty  thousand  pairs  a  day; 
working  on  the  co-operative  plan,  leaving  their  sav- 
ings with  us,  on  which  they  receive  6  per  cent,  inter- 
est.    They  now  have  on  deposit  $1 50,000. 

"  I  have  read  your  biography  written  by  Arm- 
strong, introduction  by  Joseph  Wheeler.  It  has 
put  new  life  and  fiber  into  my  veins.  I  would  that 
every   man,   woman,   and   child   could   read   it. 

"Missouri  once  had  little  faith.     She  now  has  the 

no 


IMPORT   DUTY   ON   HIDES      in 

faith  in  the  President  that  removes  mountains.  We 
have  faith  in  you,  that  you  will  give  us  all  a  square 
deal.  That  your  life  may  be  spared  to  your  family, 
to  the  American  people,  and  the  whole  world,  ought 
to  be  the  prayer  of  every  American  citizen." 

Said  the  President,  "  Do  I  understand  you  to  say 
your  business  is  conducted  on  the  co-operative  plan  ?  " 

"  To  a  certain  extent,"  replied  Mr.  Brown.  "  We 
have  one  hundred  and  ninety  of  our  employees  inter- 
ested with  us." 

"  I  will  thank  you,"  said  the  President,  "if  you 
will  be  so  kind  as  to  send  me  a  paper  giving  me  such 
details  as  you  can  on  the  subject." 

In  compliance  with  this  request  Mr.  Brown  wrote: 

St.  Louis,  U.  S.  A.,  November  22,  1905. 
Hon.  Theodore  Roosevelt, 

President  of  the  United  States, 
Washington,  D.  C. 
Dear  Sir: 

When  I  called  on  you  November  15,  as  a  member  of  the 
committee  of  shoe  men,  to  confer  with  you  relative  to  the 
import  duty  on  hides,  you  requested  me  to  write  you  of  our 
co-operative  plan  of  doing  business. 

Thirty  four  years  ago,  with  a  capital  of  $23,000,  two  of  us 
started  in  business.  We  were  told,  that  being  in  a  cotton 
district,  we  could  not  sell  for  cash;  that  in  St.  Louis  all  shoes 
were  sold  on  four  and  six  months'  time.  We,  however,  estab- 
lished on  tin'  cash  basis,  and  as  our  business  grew,  began 
sharing  the  profits  with  our  most  efficient  men,  the  number 
Wring  gradually   increased   until   now   there  are  one  hundred 

and  ninety  associated  in  our  work. 

When  one  withdraws  from  the  activities  of  the  business,  we 
endeavor  to  secure  his  stock  for  some  one  of  merit  who  is 
actively  engaged  with  us.    No  closely  have  we  adhered  to  this 


ii2        A   MAN  WITH  A   PURPOSE 

plan,  that  none  of  our  stock  is  held  outside  of  the  active 
workers  except  in  the  case  of  four  widows,  whom  we  allow  to 
retain  the  stock  of  their  deceased  husbands,  and  two  orphan 
boys  whose  fathers  worked  for  us. 

We  consider  eternal  vigilance  the  price  of  safety  in  business; 
and  as  the  company  grows,  watchfulness,  in  a  concentrative 
way,  becomes  more  and  more  essential  to  profit  making. 

We  try  to  select  employees  with  good  habits,  and  the  air 
about  our  place  is  so  infected  with  thrift,  that  young  men 
coming  with  us  are  soon  imbued  with  it,  if  they  do  not  already 
possess  it.  We  know  of  no  one  who  has  left  our  company 
without  more  money  than  when  he  came. 

Every  one  connected  with  us  is  impressed  with  the  import 
ance  of  meeting  engagements  on  time,  that  it  is  better  to  be 
five  minutes  ahead  of  time  than  five  seconds  late. 

These  are  the  chief  features  that  have  made  us  a  company 
of  $2,500,000  capital  stock,  running  six  factories,  making  the 
shoes  we  formerly  bought  in  Massachusetts.  We  employ 
five  thousand  people  with  a  pay-roll  of  $42,000  a  week,  sap- 
ping the  trade  of  the  country,  extending  a  thousand  miles  in 
every  direction  from  St.  Louis. 

The  recent  government  report  shows  that  in  1005  St.  Louis 
made  a  gain  in  the  manufacture  of  shoes  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty-one  per  cent,  over  1900. 

With  assurance  that  I  feel  greatly  honored,  and  highly 
appreciate  the  interest  you  manifest  in  our  business, 
I  remain  very  respectfully, 

A.  D.  Brown. 

In  reply  the  President  wrote: 

The  White  House, 
Washington. 
Personal.  November  24,  1905. 

Dear  Mr.  Brown: 

I  have  your  letter  of  the  22d.  It  is  most  interesting,  and 
I  am  particularly  obliged  to  you  for  writing  me  of  the  plan  on 
which  you  conduct  your  business.     How  T  wish  enough  of  our 


IMPORT    DUTY    ON  HIDES      113 

successful  business  men  would  copy  that  type  of  work;  no 
small  part  of  our  industrial  troubles  would  disappear  as  a 

result . 

Sincerely  yours, 

Mr.  A.  D.  Brown, 

Hamilton-Brown  Shoe  Co., 
St.  Louis,  Missouri. 

St.  Louis,  November  28,  1905. 
My  Dear  Sir: 

Your  esteemed  letter  of  the  24th  inst.,  received  on  yes- 
terday. I  handed  it  to  one  of  our  directors,  who  read  it  to 
the  board.  They  all  unite  with  me  in  thanking  you  for  your 
good  words  respecting  our  industry. 

Your  painstaking  thoughtfulness,  in  the  interest  of  the 
American  people,  has  made  them  a  unit  in  love  for  you. 

For  several  months  the  idea  has  been  running  in  my  mind 
that  you  are  working  on  the  plan  laid  down  by  our  Master  in 
the  17th  chapter  of  John,  part  of  the  19th  verse,  viz:  "For 
their  sakes,  I  sanctify  myself."  Judging  from  the  way  you 
are  serving  the  people,  I  believe  these  words  are  specially 

fitting  to  you. 

Gladstone,  when  near  the  end  of  his  rich  life,  was  asked 
for  the  secret  of  his  success  with  men  and  measures.  He  re- 
plied, "lean  answer  in  one  word,  'Concentration.'  "  My  prayer 
is  that  you,  Mr.  President,  may  be  blest  with  this  power  of 
concentration,  for  the  good  of  the  people  in  this  life  and  that 

which  is  to  come. 

Sincerely  yours, 

A.  D.  Brown. 

Hon.  Theodore  Roosevelt, 

President  of  the  United  States, 

The  White  House,  Washington,  D.  C 

( )n  the  diary  of  Garfield  was  found  this  entry  madc- 
oii  the  day  he  heard  Spurgeon  preach  in  the  Metro- 


ii4        A    MAN   WITH  A    PURPOSE 

politan  Tabernacle,  London,  "God  bless  Spurgeon, 
he  is  helping  to  work  out  the  problems  of  civil  and  re- 
ligious freedom  for  England  in  a  way  he  knows  not  of." 

The  industrial  problem  is  the  gravest  one  that  con- 
fronts the  American  people  to-day.  After  a  study  of 
conditions  and  a  close  observation  of  Mr.  Brown's 
spirit  and  methods,  I  believe  with  the  President, 
that  if  the  successfull  business  men  will  copy  his 
type  of  work  the  industrial  troubles  will  largely 
disappear.  Mr.  Brown  is  helping  to  work  out  these 
problems  in  a  way  he  knows  not  of. 

The  correspondence  with  the  President  did  not 
sidetrack  the  purpose  of  Mr.  Brown  in  trying  to  se- 
cure the  removal  of  the  tariff  on  hides.  In  his  weeklv 
letter  of  December  15,  he  writes:  "  We  must  have 
the  duty  off  of  hides.  We  are  sending  you  letters  and 
petitions  which  explain  themselves,  also  sending  one 
each  to  the  trade  through  our  general  correspond- 
ence.    There  is  no  reason  for  the  duty  on  hides. 

There   are   but    two    reasons    for  a  tariff,    one 
to  raise  revenue,  the  other  to  protect  an  infant  in- 
dustry.    The  tariff  on  hides  is  not  intended  for  rev- 
enue, and  slight  investigation  will  show  that  the 
infant  it  protects  has  grown  to  a  lusty  giant. 

"The  hide  business  of  the  country  is  now  in  a 
few  hands,  not  more  than  a  half  dozen  concerns 
being  considerably  benefited  by  it. 

"  We  want  you  to  interest  every  merchant  in  get- 
ting this  duty  off  of  hides.  Have  them  write  to  their 
Congressmen  and  Senators,  and  also  have  the  peti- 
tion signed  at  their  stores  by  their  customers. 


IMPORT   DUTY   ON   HIDES      115 

"  The  cattlemen  receive  scarcely  a  cent  more  for 
cattle  by  reason  of  the  hide  that  is  on  them. 
Stir  this  matter  up  with  every  merchant  and  keep  it 
red  hot  till  we  get  the  duty  off  of  hides. ' ' 

The  basis  of  our  protective  tariff  is  the  upbuilding 
of  the  industries  of  this  country.  It  has  long  been 
felt  by  a  large  portion  of  the  general  public  that  the 
policy  was  more  in  the  interest  of  eastern  manufac- 
turers, and  those  who  are  a  part  of  that  aggressive  in- 
dustrial population  than  the  people  throughout  the 
United  States. 

Previous  to  1842  hides  were  admitted  free  of  duty; 
the  following  thirty  years  they  were  subject  to  a  duty 
of  4  per  cent,  to  10  per  cent.  In  1872  they  were  placed 
on  the  free  list.  In  1890  the  great  champion  of 
the  protective  tariff,  William  McKinley,  whose  mem- 
ory is  dear  to  every  American,  had  incorporated 
in  his  tariff  measure  a  duty  on  hides.  The  plumed 
knight,  James  G.  Blaine,  raised  his  voice  against  the 
clause  applying  to  hides  so  effectively  that  it  was 
eliminated  with  the  hearty  approval  of  Mr.  McKinley. 

In  1897  during  the  administration  of  President 
McKinley  it  was  deemed  wise  for  political  reasons, 
to  extend  the  idea  of  protection  and  include  within 
its  alluring  grasp  the  farmer  and  cattle  raiser  of  the 
west,  so  the  famous  Dingley  tariff  bill  carried  in  its 
wide  embrace  a  duly  of  [5  per  cent  on  hides. 

Back  of  this  movement  were  the  packers,  who 
under  the  guise  of  giving  the  western  cattle  men  more 
money  for  the  hides  on  the  cattle  they  raise,  really 
secured  B   JUDsidy  from  the  government  which  has 


u6        A   MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

not  only  proved  of  no  value  to  the  farmer  and  cattle 
raiser,  but  has  been  an  absurd  contribution  by  the 
general  public  to  five  or  six  packing  corporations. 

The  purpose  of  a  protective  tariff  is  to  prevent  for- 
eign countries  from  selling  their  manufactured  pro- 
duct in  our  land.  The  hide  is  not  a  manufactured 
product;  when  the  tanners  were  compelled  to  pay  15 
per  cent,  advolorum  duty  on  hides  imported  from 
foreign  countries  it  increased  the  cost  of  leather  to 
American  manufacturers. 

The  general  public  does  not  know  that  for  the  past 
fifteen  years  the  United  States  has  been  tanning  a 
large  portion  of  the  leather  for  the  rest  of  the  world, 
and  at  this  time  is  buying  hides  from  every  nation  on 
the  globe. 

Since  the  tariff  law  imposing  a  duty  on  hides  has 
been  in  force,  the  American  cattle  raiser  has  received 
no  appreciable  benefit.  On  the  contrary,  he  received 
a  lower  price  for  his  steers  when  the  packer  charged 
the  tanner  the  highest  price  for  the  hides.  October  1, 
1904,  the  packers  paid  the  cattle  man  six  dollars  and 
fifty-five  cents  per  cwt.  for  his  choice  steers,  and  sold 
the  tanner  the  hides  at  iof  cents  per  pound.  Oc- 
tober 1,  1905,  the  packers  paid  the  cattle  men  six 
dollars  and  forty  cents  per  cwt.  for  the  same  grade  of 
cattle,  and  charged  the  tanners  15  cents  per  pound 
for  the  hides.  In  1905  the  packers  paid  the  cattle 
men  15  cents  per  cwt.  less  for  their  steers  than  in 
1904  and  charged  the  tanner  45  per  cent,  more 
for  the  hides.  Where  is  the  benefit  to  the  cattle 
raiser  ? 


IMPORT  DUTY    ON    HIDES     117 

When  the  tanners  of  the  United  States,  who  import 
millions  of  hides,  tried  to  sell  their  leather  in  foreign 
countries,  they  found  that  the  tanners  of  those  coun- 
tries could  buy  hides  anywhere  on  earth  15  per  cent, 
cheaper  than  they  could.  They  appealed  to  the  gov- 
ernment for  relief.  After  some  delay  Congress  grant- 
ed the  tanners  a  'draw-back  '  on  leather  shipped 
abroad.  The  government  now  refunds  to  the  tanner 
the  1 5  per  cent,  on  the  leather  they  ship  to  other  coun- 
tries, and  as  a  result  the  manufacturers  of  Europe  are 
buying  American  leather  15  per  cent,  cheaper  than 
the  manufacturers  of  the  United  States. 

With  our  advantages  in  industrial  facilities  we  are 
the  tanners  of  the  world.  Under  our  present  system 
the  foreign  shoe  maker  sends  his  hides  to  the  United 
States,  has  them  tanned,  and  sends  the  leather  to  his 
factory.  He  thus  gets  American  leather  for  less  than 
the  manufacturers  of  the  United  States  can  buy  it, 
and  is  enabled  through  this  advantage  to  keep  our 
shoes  out  of  foreign  markets. 

With  the  superior  skill  and  efficiency  of  our  work- 
man and  our  advanced  industrial  facilities,  the  peo- 
ple of  the  United  States  will  become  the  shoe  makers 
of  the  world,  if  relieved  of  the  handicap  on  leather, 
and  our  exports  will  change  from  a  few  million  dol- 
lars worth  of  leather  to  hundreds  of  millions  of 
manufactured  product. 

The  people  of  the  world  are  advancing  along  all 
line  ,  especially  in  material  wealth,  and  as  they* ad 
vaniv   they    use  more  and  better  shoes.    Give  our 
Ameri(  an  shoe  makers  an  equal  show,  and  they  will 


u8        A    MAX    WITH   A    PURPOSE 

sell  shoes  to  the  people  of  every  nation  on  earth. 
It  is  no  wonder  that  Mr.  Brown  is  working  to  get 
the  duty  off  of  hides,  and  that  he  goes  at  it  in  his 
thorough  way.  Through  the  letter  he  stirs  the  sales- 
men; through  the  salesman  the  merchant;  and 
through  the  merchant  the  user  of  the  shoes.  He  sets 
in  motion  influences  that  secure  the  help  of  several 
hundred  thousand  people  in  removing  the  duty  from 
hides. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

A   SHOE    COLLEGE. 

Mr.  Brown  is  the  founder  and  head  of  one  of  the 
most  thorough  industrial  schools  in  the  world.  The 
daily  routine  is  a  system  of  education.  The  "Weekly 
Letter"  is  a  lecture  on  the  science  of  shoe  making 
and  selling,  with  a  resume  of  conditions.  The 
semi-annual  meetings  which,  twice  a  year,  mark 
the  graduation  into  new  and  broader  fields,  are  cli- 
maxes of  this  shoe  college.  The  two  weeks  lecture 
course  is  as  thorough  as  that  given  on  scientific  sub- 
jects in  our  great  universities,  and  the  examinations 
are  as  rigid. 

Preparatory  to  these  semi-annual  meetings,  the 
first  of  which  is  in  March,  the  salesmen  have  written 
letters  giving  the  best  things  they  have  discovered  and 
originated  in  shoes.  These  points  and  suggestions, 
together  with  all  that  could  be  gleaned  by  observa- 
tion and  experience  in  other  fields,  have  been  thresh- 
ed over  in  the  weekly  meetings  and,  at  a  special  coun 
i  il,  tin-  result  has  been  garnered  into  the  new  fall  line, 
the  samples  of  which  are  in  hand,  and  subjects  for 

tudy. 

'Ill,-  forenoons  of  the  firsl  week  are  spent  in  n  prac- 
tical  -tudy  of  shoe  making.  The  salesmen,  divided 
into  group-,  go  through  the  different  fat  tories  under 

ii'j 


120        A    MAX    WITH   A    PURPOSE 

the  guidance  of  the  factory  superintendent  who 
shows  the  different  processes  of  manufacture  and 
the  grade  and  kind  of  materials  used.  In  fact  a 
thorough  study  is  made  of  the  details  of  shoe  making. 

At  i  :t,o  P.  M.,  they  meet  on  the  ninth  floor  of  the 
store  with  Mr.  Brown  in  the  chair.  Here  they  tell 
what  they  have  seen  at  the  factories,  criticise  what 
they  do  not  approve,  and  commend  what  they 
endorse. 

On  Monday  morning  of  the  second  week  at  8 
o  'clock  sharp,  the  roll-call  begins  on  the  fourth  floor 
of  the  store,  and  every  salesman  is  expected  to  an- 
swer to  his  name.  The  only  excuse  accepted  for  not 
being  present  is  serious  illness;  and  no  excuse  will 
pass  for  being  late.  Here  come  together  in  council, 
Mr.  Brown,  the  directors,  factory  superintendents, 
and  the  salesmen,  who  represent  the  company  in 
most  every  state  of  the  Union,  and  carry  their  flag 
into  Cuba,  Porto  Rico,  Jamaica,  Venezuela,  The 
Philippines,  Panama,  Great  Britain,  and  Continental 
Europe. 

Following  the  roll-call,  prayer  is  offered  by  Mr. 
Brown,  who  humbly  thanks  God  for  the  prosperity  of 
the  business,  for  the  prosperity  of  the  country,  for 
being  allowed  to  come  together  again.  He  prays  for 
those  who  are  kept  away  by  sickness,  not  forgetting 
those  who  have  passed  to  the  silent  beyond.  He  prays 
that  all  may  live  honest  and  virtuous  lives,  that 
those  who  have  wives  may  be  true  to  their  marriage 
vow.  That  all  may  be  possessed  of  character,  that 
all   may   do    right,  and  be  true  to  themselves  and 


W 

►J 

— 


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D 

y. 
v. 


r. 


A  SHOE  COLLEGE  121 

others.  He  prays  that  God  will  help  each  to  take 
Jesus  for  a  partner,  that  He  will  help  every  one  to 
have  stick-to-itiveness,  and  secure  peace,  power  and 
plenty.  He  prays  that  God  will  teach  all  the  habits  of 
going  to  bed  early,  that  they  may  get  rest  and  vigor 
for  next  day's  work.  He  thanks  God  for  his  good- 
ness to  each,  and  prays  that  all  may  so  live  this  life 
as  to  be  prepared  for  the  life  to  come. 

After  the  prayer  a  clerk  calls  the  make  of  a  shoe, 
style,  sizes,  and  widths.  These  are  written  on  tags 
by  twenty-four  salesmen,  seated  at  a  table.  The  tags 
are  then  passed  to  those  standing  around  another 
table  who  quickly  place  one  on  each  shoe.  This 
process  is  kept  up  till  forty  thousand  samples  are 
marked.  The  system  is  so  thorough,  the  labor  so 
nicely  adjusted  and  divided  among  the  salesmen, 
that  the  task  is  completed  within  a  few  hours. 

The  different  lines  of  shoes  are  taken  to  the  ninth 
floor,  one  of  the  lines  is  arranged  on  a  long  table  in 
front  of  which  are  chairs  for  the  salesmen.  Here 
they  assemble  at  8  o'clock  A.  M.,  the  roll  is  called, 
and  every  man  must  be  in  his  place.  At  the  rear  of 
the  table  is  a  platform,  extending  the  full  length,  on 
which  Mr.  Brown  is  seated.  He  rises  when  the  roll 
,  all  Is  completed.  If  any  are  absent  he  expresses  re- 
gret, saying,  "Those  who  are  not  here  have  lost 
time  and  opportunity  that  they  can  never  find  again. 
I  know  when  I  lose  time  it  is  gone,  I   can't   make  it 

up." 

The  superintendent  of  the  factory  in  which  the  line 
of  shoes  on  the  table  is  made,  takes  a  shoe  in  hand 


[22        A   MAN  WITH  A   PURPOSE 

and  delivers  a  Lecture  on  that  particular  shoe.  He 
shows  the  materials  of  which  it  is  made,  tells  the 
kind  of  leather,  the  process  of  tanning,  and  by  whom 
tanned.  He  explains  in  detail  how  the  shoe  is  made, 
gives  the  name,  last,  style,  widths,  and  sizes.  When 
the  lecture  is  finished  questions  are  asked.  If  there  is 
a  complaint,  the  weak  point  is  discussed,  and  reme- 
dies suggested.  Each  shoe  is  thus  analyzed.  Every 
man  is  expected  to  know  all  about  it  before  starting 
on  the  road.  If  it  is  a  shoe  that  has  been  sold  pre- 
vious seasons,  he  must  know  its  complete  history, 
how  long  it  has  been  made,  how  it  wears,  how  many 
have  been  sold,  and  how  many  in  stock.  Every 
weak  spot  in  its  history  is  ventillated,  and  its  strong 
points  are  urged  by  its  friends. 

In  the  discussions,  the  one  hundred  and  twenty 
alert  minds,  all  keenly  alive  to  the  interest  of  the 
business  of  which  they  are  a  part,  bring  out  every 
point  for  and  against  the  shoe  in  question.  In  these 
debates,  when  important  changes  are  in  question, 
there  is  a  flow  of  eloquence  and  a  power  of  reason 
that  would  do  credit  to  our  legislature. 

After  the  line  has  thus  been  thoroughly  gone 
through,  Mr.  Brown,  who  has  been  a  close  listener 
and  observer,  takes  a  shoe  in  hand,  and  calling  the 
name  of  a  salesman,  who  rises  to  his  feet,  asks: 
"What  shoe  is  this?  Name,  style,  widths,  sizes, 
price?"  He  takes  up  another  shoe,  calls  another 
salesman,  and  asks  similar  questions. 

In  these  meetings  Mr.  Brown's  marvelous  grasp 
of  detail  is  seen.     Nothing  connected  with  any  shoe 


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A  SHOE   COLLEGE  123 

escapes  his  attention.  In  the  examinations  if  a 
salesman  answers  incorrectly,  he  calls  another.  He 
goes  through  the  entire  line.  This  routine  is  carried 
out  with  every  line  produced  by  the  six  factories. 

The  superintendents  of  the  factories  are  strong 
men,  and  so  familiar  with  every  detail  that  they 
answer  questions  without  a  moment's  hesitation, 
and  are  able  to  tell  the  cost  of  each  shoe  to  the 
fraction  of  a  cent. 

In  these  semi-annual  meetings  important  ques- 
tions arise.  A  salesman  wants  a  certain  line  of 
shoes  for  his  trade,  something  the  house  does  not 
make.  He  urges  his  claim  ;  the  matter  is  sifted ; 
even-thing  connected  with  the  proposition  is  threshed 
over.  With  tact,  Mr.  Brown  stimulates  discussion, 
and  if  the  question  is  an  important  one  he  insists 
that  all,  being  stockholders,  should  have  a  voice  in 
the  decision. 

At  a  recent  meeting,  the  manager  of  one  of  the 
departments  submitted  a  letter  in  which  he  insisted 
that  a  line  of  shoes  which  they  were  making  should 
be  branded  as  one  of  their  advertised  lines  in  order 
to  meet  the  demands  of  the  retailers  who  wanted  a 
larger  profit  than  the  advertised  line  alTorded.  The 
proposition  engendered  a  warm  discussion.  It  was 
a  battle  between  those  who  insisted  on  keeping  the 
quality  up,  regardless  of  the  demands  of  these  re- 
tailers, and  those  who  insisted  thai  the  retailer 
should  have  a  cheaper  shoe  if  he  wauled   it. 

Mr.  Brown,  rising,  said:  "A  house  divided  against 
itself  cannot  stand.     We   are  here  t<>  gel    unity.      1 


,.M        A    MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

have  been  in  the  shoe  business  for  thirty-four  years. 
We  have  had  the  lace  and  the  button  shoe.  For  a 
time  the  button  was  the  favorite,  but  the  run  went 
back  to  the  lace  because  it  is  more  comfortable  and 
better  adapted  to  the  foot.  You  are  now  running 
on  the  Blucher  but  we  hear  from  the  East  that  the 
bal  is  coming  back." 

Texas,— "They  won't  sell." 

Arizona, — "Mr.  Brown,  if  we  give  our  customers 
this  cheaper  shoe  in  the  advertised  line  we  will  be 
giving  them  as  good  shoes  as  other  factories." 

Mr.  Brown, — "You  all  have  your  views,  and  some 
of  you  insist  that  when  we  give  our  customers  this 
cheaper  shoe  we  are  doing  as  well  by  them  as  other 
factories.  We  are  not  trying  to  do  as  well  as  others, 
or  as  well  as  we  have  done  in  the  past;  this  does  not 
satisfy  us,  we  must  do  better." 

"I  have  been  thinking  of  six  words,  'For  their 
sakes  I  sanctify  myself.'  I  keep  out  of  outside  things. 
I  am  giving  my  life  to  this  business.  Now  here  is  a 
line  of  bals  of  which  we  have  many  in  stock.  Sup- 
pose we  let  you  sell  them  at  the  price  you  suggest 
instead  of  putting  in  the  lower  grade  shoe;  won't 
that  answer?''" 

A  number  cried,  "No,  sir!" 

Mr.  Brown, — "With  the  five  bals  can't  you  get 
along  all  right?" 

Virginia, — "I  can't  sell  as  many." 

Texas, — "It  will  not  do  to  cut  our  quality  by 
putting  in  the  cheap  shoe.  It  will  injure  my  trade." 

Nebraska, — "Mr.  Brown,    we  need  a  full  line  of 


A   SHOE   COLLEGE  125 

styles  in  the  advertised  shoe  to  supply  our  custom- 
ers who  want  a  larger  profit  than  they  can  get  on  our 
present  prices.  If  you  will  change  the  name  of  this 
cheaper  shoe  to  that  of  the  advertised  line,  they  will 
be  satisfied." 

Mr.  Brown,— "Won't  the  shoe  answer  the  pur- 
pose of  your  customer  under  its  present  name  ?  We 
cannot  make  it  the  other  shoe  by  merely  giving  it 
the  name." 

Louisiana,— "Give  us  the  styles  and  prices  in  the 
better  shoe,  so  we  can  hold  our  trade.  We  are  not 
anxious  to  cut  the  quality.  What  we  wish  is  the 
styles  and  prices  in  the  line  our  customers  want." 

Factory  Superintendent,— "We  cannot  sell  that 
shoe  at  the  price  you  want,  without  a  loss,  and  I  will 
not  run  a  factory  and  make  shoes  to  sell  at  a  loss." 

Mr.  Brown, — "I  have  as  much  interest  as  any  of 
you.  We  cannot  afford  to  cut  the  quality  of  our 
shoes.  Rather  than  do  this,  1  will  give  you  the  good 
-hoes  at  the  price,  and  pay  the  factory  the  differ- 
ence myself." 

Pennsylvania,—"!  don't  like  thai  plan.  I  do  not 
question  Mr.  Brown's  ability  to  pay,  but  I  would 
rather  take  the  line  as  it  is  than  to  have  a  conces- 
sion on  these  term^. 

Texas, — "I  have  been  fifteen  years  on  the  road. 
Before  coming  with  this  company,  I  represented  a 
firm  whose  goods  did  not  come  up  to  sample.  I 
asked  them  what  it  would  ( OSt  to  make  the  shoes 
like  the  sample?  They  said, 'Twenty  five  cents  a  pair 
additional.'     1  told  them  to  make  the  shoes  like  the 


[36      A   MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

sample  and  I  would  sell  them  for  twenty-five  cents  a 
pair  more.  They  would  not  do  it.  As  a  result,  I 
was  always  looking  for  new  customers,  and  the 
house  went  out  of  business.  If  we  are  to  stay  at  the 
head  of  the  shoe  business  we  must  keep  the  quality 
up." 

Washington, — "To  make  a  correct  solution  of  this 
question,  let  us  wait  till  after  lunch.  In  this  crowd 
there  is  much  ability.  With  an  honest  heart  and  a 
clear  brain,  I  feel  we  can  solve  this  problem  right. 
Solomon  says,  "In  a  multitude  of  counsel  there  is 
safety." 

Mr.  Brown, — "It  is  an  hour  yet  before  lunch." 

Director, — "You  are  all  unnecessarily  excited 
about  this  question.  I  think  your  customers  are  not 
worrying  half  so  much  over  it.  The  line  you  propose 
changing  has  the  name  of  the  company  on  it,  and 
that  is  what  the  people  are  looking  for.  Mr.  Brown 
suggests  that  we  give  you  a  line  of  five  styles  of  bals, 
and  that  is  all  you  need.  The  bal  is  the  best  fitting 
and  feeling  shoe  we  make." 

Arkansas, — "I  think  this  question  of  changing  the 
line  is  too  big  to  be  solved  at  this  late  hour.  Most 
of  us  will  see  our  best  trade  before  new  samples  can 
be  made.  I  think  the  best  thing  to  do  is  to  take 
out  the  line  as  it  is." 

Colorado, — "I  move  we  take  out  the  line  as  it  is." 

Florida, — "I   second   the  motion." 

A  vote  was  taken,  every  man  rising  in  answer  to 
his  name.  The  motion  carried  by  a  vote  of  three  to 
one.     On  motion  of  Ohio  it  was  made  unanimous 


A  SHOE  COLLEGE  127 

with  enthusiasm.  Mr.  Brown  proposed  the  shoe 
college  yell,  when  every  man  arose  and  shouted, 
"Keep  the  Quality  up!  keep  the  Quality  up!  keep 
the  Quality  up!  " 

Our  colleges  are  not  more  thorough  in  teaching, 
nor  more  exacting  and  severe  in  examination  than 
this  one.  No  salesman  is  allowed  to  go  on  the  road 
until  he  knows  his  lesson.  Sometimes  a  salesman 
is  required  to  stay  several  days  after  the  others  have 
gone,  to  master  the  details  of  the  knowledge  de- 
manded. It  makes  no  difference  how  long  or  suc- 
cessfully they  have  represented  other  houses,  they 
must  know  the  lesson  here  taught  before  starting 
out.  They  must  know  the  business  methods  of  Mr. 
Brown,  must  be  familiar  with  the  general  business 
of  the  house,  and  imbued  with  its  enthusiasm,  so 
they  may  not  only  be  able  to  sell  to  the  best  mer- 
chants, but  command  their  respect  and  attention. 

Mr.  Brown  believes,  as  did  Cicero,  "In  all  mat- 
ters, before  beginning,  a  diligent  preparation  should 
be  made."  And  in  all  his  efforts  and  plans  in  life  he 
makes  the  words  of  Edward  Everett  sparkle:  "The 
path  to  excellence  and  success  in  every  calling,  is 
that  of  appropriate  preliminary  education,  diligent 
application  to  learn  the  art,  and  assiduity  in  prac- 
ticing it."  lie  knows  that  knowledge,  skillfully  and 
industriously  employed,  i^  more  precious  than 
rubies. 

Getting  knowledge  is  not  merely  the  harvesting  of 
f;u  1  ,  the  gathering  of  unfamiliar  items  for  future 
u-e.     It    i^  a    development,   a    training   of    psychic 


i28        A   MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

power.    Longfellow,  in    speaking    of    Augustine's 

ladder,    says : 

"Heights  by  great  men  reached  and  kept, 
Were  not  attained  by  sudden  flight; 
But  they,  while  their  companions  slept, 
Were  toiling  upwards  in  the  night." 

Skill  has  nothing  to  exercise  itself  upon  until 
knowledge  is  acquired.  Without  knowledge  industry 
goes  to  waste.  Skill  is  the  edge  of  the  tool,  knowl- 
edge is  the  weight  behind  the  edge.  Without  weight 
the  axe  would  be  useless. 

The  man  of  character  who  possesses  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  his  business  and  holds  that  knowledge 
within  easy  reach  for  use,  has  the  greatest  possible 
power  for  carrying  out  his  purpose. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE   SCIENCE   OF   PUBLICITY. 

No  feature  of  Mr.  Brown's  advancing  development 
has  been  more  marked  than  his  ideas  of  publicity. 
His  system  has  been  a  gradual  growth.  In  1892, 
when  in  London,  he  saw  in  the  Metropolitan  Tab- 
ernacle (Spurgeon's  church)  a  blackboard  on  which 
'  were  announced  the  collections  of  the  previous  Sun- 
day, and  a  statement  of  the  increase  over  the  Sunday 
before.  The  thought  behind  this  announcement 
was,  if  it  showed  an  increase  it  would  stimulate  to 
larger  giving,  if  a  decrease,  it  would  stir  the  people 
to  make  up  the  deficiency. 

Mr.  Brown  determined  to  adopt  this  system  in  his 
business,  and  began  to  post  on  a  board  in  the  front 
window  of  the  store,  the  amount  of  the  sales  for  the 
month  and  that  of  the  corresponding  month  of  the 
previous  year,  giving  the  increase  or  decrease.  Some 
of  his  business  friends  chided  him  for  the  practice. 
A  prominent  hardware  man  told  him  it  was  unwise, 
that  if  his  business  was  large  and  increasing  it  would 
attract  competition,  if  a  decrease,  it  would  drive 
trade  away,  as  people  did  not  like  to  trade  with  a 
man  that  was  losing  ground.  Vet  he  persisted  in  the 
|)t;i<  ti<  e,  not  only  posting  the  Statements  in  the  store 
and  factories,  but  published  the  same  the  firsl  day  of 

.     Q 


i3o      A   MAX    WITH  A   PURPOSE 

each  month  in  the  Globc-Dcmocrat,  and  Republic  of  St. 
Louis,  and  the  Record- Herald  of  Chicago.  In  1893 
the  panic  was  felt  in  trade  circles,  and  one  month 
showed  a  loss  of  $130,000.  There  were  some  wagers 
made  that  the  statement  would  not  be  published  that 
month,  but  it  was  made  just  as  prominent  as  the 
gains  had  been.  At  the  present  time,  each  day's 
business  is  posted  in  the  store,  not  only  each  day,  but 
three  times  a  day,  the  volume  of  business  up  to  the 
hour  of  making  the  announcement  is  posted  on  a 
board.  So  it  is  known  three  times  a  day  just  what 
the  shipments  are  as  compared  with  the  same  day 
the  previous  year. 

Keeping  step  with  the  advancing  spirit  of  the  age, 
The  Department  of  Publicity'  was  created  and  placed 
in  charge  of  a  manager  with  a  number  of  assistants. 
In  no  department  of  the  great  business  are  the  de- 
mands more  exacting  in  skill  and  efficiency. 

Their  own  publications  illustrating  the  products 
of  the  factories  with  written  descriptions,  are  works 
of  art  and  a  factor  of  strength,  not  only  acquainting 
those  connected  with  the  company  with  the  shoes 
and  stimulating  higher  ideals  in  production,  but  they 
are  a  means  of  education  to  their  merchant  custom- 
ers, helping  them  to  more  intelligently  dispose  of  the 
shoes.  In  this  department  the  means  of  publicity  such 
as  signs,  booklets,  correspondence,  etc.,  that  have 
long  been  used  are  continued  and  greatly  improved 
with  advanced  methods,  but  the  great  stride  in  the 
advance  of  the  'Publicity  Department'  was  the  begin- 
ning to  advertise  in  high  class  magazines  and  peri- 


THE  SCIENCE  OF   PUBLICITY  131 

odicals.  Their  contracts  for  1906  cover  the  inser- 
tion of  advertisements  in  seventy-nine  million,  nine 
hundred  and  forty-four  thousand  copies  of  popular 
magazines.  These  magazines  are  read  by  nearly 
twenty  million  people. 

Few  realize  the  value  of  advertising  to  the  progress 
of  the  world.    This  science  has  been  one  of  the  great 
factors  in  promoting  the  brotherhood  of  man,  and 
securing  co-operation  in  carrying  out  measures  for 
man's   material  and  intellectual  progress.     Under 
modern  conditions  a  single  copy  of  a  great  daily 
costs  more  than  $10,000.     By  advertising,  thus  se- 
curing the  co-operation  of  the  reader  and  advertiser, 
we  become  one  of  a  band  of  brotherhood  that  buys 
a  copy  for  a  penny.     In  times  of  war  when  the  result 
of  a  battle  affects  the  interests  of  the  civilized  world, 
our  great  dailies  have  their  brainiest  men  on  the 
ground,  and  frequently  expend  as  much  as  $5,000 
reporting  a  single  battle  by  cable.     The  science  of 
advertising  is  the  underlying  element  that  enables 
this  outlay.     It  increases  the  readers  of  the  paper 
and  thus  adds  to  the  value  of  its  space.     A  single 
copy  of  a  popular  magazine,  which  we  buy  for  a  few 
cents,  costs  the  publisher  thousands  of  dollars.     It 
often  contains  a  single  article  which  costs  the  pub- 
lisher Si, 000,  and    the    writer    a   life    of  study  and 
•  arch. 

There  has  been  advance  in  all  methods  of  exploit- 
ation, and  the  rewards  haw  kept  pace  with  advanc- 
ing skill.  The  tnosl  effective  is  personal  work, 
adding  to  the  persuasion  of  words  the  eloquence  of 


i32        A   MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

speech  to  give  them  additional  power.  The  trav- 
eling salesman  is  simply  an  advertiser;  his  success 
depends  on  his  skill,  industry,  tact,  and  honesty. 
Mr.  Brown  recognizes  the  ability  of  a  salesman  who 
advertises  his  wares,  and  pays  more  proportionately 
for  skill  and  efficiency  in  this  department  than  any 
other,  not  excepting  directors  and  factory  superin- 
tendents. But  personal  work  is  the  most  expensive 
means  of  advertising,  and  can  only  be  used  in  the 
larger  transactions  which  lay  the  foundation  for 
general  distribution.  The  consumer  or  user  must 
be  reached  through  less  expensive  methods,  the  most 
effective  of  which,  in  proportion  to  cost,  is  skillfully 
used  space  in  publications  of  character,  and  wide 
circulation.  One  dollar  expended  in  a  medium  of 
this  class  will  reach  more  people  than  a  thousand 
expended  in  a  personal  canvass,  but  of  course  it  is 
not  so  effective  with  each. 

Through  the  means  of  advertising,  thus  securing 
the  co-operation  of  large  numbers  in  their  use,  vir- 
tually everything  that  contributes  to  the  comfort  and 
progress  of  man  has  been  greatly  improved  in  qual- 
ity and  the  cost  reduced  to  a  minimum.  Railroads 
and  steamships  could  not  carry  man  all  over  the 
world,  giving  him  the  luxuries  and  comforts  of  home 
when  en  route,  without  advertising,  thus  securing 
large  numbers  of  passengers  so  as  to  reduce  the  cost 
of  each  to  a  minimum.  The  demand  for  clever 
advertisements  has  developed  schools  for  the  teach- 
ing and  study  of  this  science.  The  amount  of  money 
paid  for  skill  in  the  art  of  publicity  is  more  than  in 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   PUBLICITY  133 

most  any  other  field,  and  the  brainiest  men  are 
being  drawn  into  this  work.  These  men,  with  their 
business  acumen,  secure  the  best  talent  of  pen  and 
brush  to  assist  them  in  giving  the  highest  possible 
value  to  the  space  they  buy.  As  a  result  of  this 
combined  effort,  a  study  of  the  advertisements  in  a 
high-class  magazine  is  an  education  within  itself. 
The  creations  used  to  attract  attention  are  often 
works  of  art  that  would  do  credit  to  the  brush  of  a 
Raphael,  and  the  written  words  of  many  advertise- 
ments are  classics. 

A  good  advertisement  not  only  increases  the  de- 
mand for  an  article,  but  stimulates  the  advertiser  to 
improve  the  quality,  and  thus  make  its  distribution 
cumulative.  An  inferior  article  cannot  be  success- 
fully advertised,  for,  as  Lincoln  said,  "You  can  fool 
some  of  the  people  some  of  the  time,  but  you  cannot 
fool  all  the  people  all  the  time."  In  order  to  stand 
the  expense  of  advertising,  an  article  must  make  a 
friend  of  the  user  so  that  he  becomes  an  advertiser 
for  it  within  the  circle  of  his  friends. 

Mr.  Brown  with  his  faculty  for  grasping  things, 
and  utilizing  them  in  carrying  out  his  purpose,  uses 
the  great  advertising  mediums  to  introduce  his  shoes 
into  every  home,  and  battles  to  keep  the  quality  up, 
SO  that  every  pair  used  will  make  a  friend. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

SIDE   LIGHTS   ON   MR.    BROWN'S   LIFE. 

Although  Mr.  Brown  devotes  his  life  to  his  busi- 
ness, his  family,  and  his  church,  he  is  not  indifferent 
to  his  duties  as  a  citizen.  In  1896  he  was  deeply 
interested  in  the  money  question.  He  is  a  democrat, 
but  was  strongly  opposed  to  Bryan's  free  silver  ideas. 
During  the  campaign  he  was  stopping  at  the  Gilsie 
House,  New  York.  In  the  early  morning  he  went 
down  to  the  washroom.  Approaching  an  Irishman 
who  was  cleaning  the  brass  work  of  the  fixtures,  rais- 
ing his  hands  in  his  characteristic  way,  he  asked, 
"How  are  the  Irish  in  New  York  going  to  vote?" 

The  Irishman  continued  his  rubbing  and  made 
no  reply.  Mr.  Brown  said  to  him,  "Bourke  is  going 
to  vote  for  McKinley,  he  made  a  speech  for  him  last 
night."  "If  oi  had  as  mooch  mooncy  as  Cochrane 
got  for  makin'  that  spaech  oi'd  quit  woork."  said 
the  Irishman.  Mr.  Brown  replied,  "McKinley  is 
a  fine  man."  "Yes,  thar's  lots  of  foine  min,  but  oi 
hear  that  man  O'Brian  is  a  hard  woorkin'  man  like 
meself,  and  oi'll  vote  for  him." 

Mr.  Brown  is  natural  and  frank  in  all  the  rela- 
tions of  life.  In  his  home,  the  family  altar  has  a 
place.     He  reads  the  Scripture  each  morning  and 

134 


o 


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< 

w 

h 

h 

< 


^ 


SIDE  LIGHTS  ON  MR.  BROWN'S  LIFE  135 

asks  God's  guidance  for  the  day.  His  prayers  are 
direct  talks  to  the  Lord  in  a  conversational  tone, 
and  his  blessings  before  each  meal  are  in  the  same 
straightforward,  earnest  way.  In  the  summer  of 
1905,  we  were  companions  on  a  steamer  to  South 
Hampton.  In  the  company  were  his  wife  and  two 
daughters,  his  pastor  and  wife  and  my  son.  He 
had  secured  a  large  stateroom  with  the  view  of  morn- 
ing prayers  en  route.  The  younger  members  of  the 
circle  did  not  get  down  to  the  morning  worship.  In 
his  frank  and  candid  way,  he  prayed,  "O  Lord,  we 
are  not  raising  our  children  right.  Dr.  Williamson 
is  here,  Dr.  Johnston  is  here,  Mrs.  Williamson  is 
here,  Mrs.  Brown  is  here.  O  Lord,  if  our  parents 
had  raised  us  as  we  are  raising  our  children  we  would 
not  be  here.  O  Lord,  forgive  us  and  we  promise  to 
have  our  children  here  to-morrow  morning."  The 
following  morning,  by  the  exercise  of  great  tact  and 
patience,  he  kept  his  promise.  Later,  in  speaking  of 
Mr.  Brown,  my  son  said,  "His  prayers  arc  so  earnest 
and  frank  that  they  startle  me.  He  talks  so  personally 
and  directly  when  he  prays,  I  almost  catch  myself 
looking  around  to  see  if  God  is  there." 

!|r)|(l|t:|t$$l|tl|C 

A  guesl  one  Sunday  was  walking  with  Mr.  Brown 
along  the  driveway.  As  they  passed  a  flower  bed 
a  little  homeless  snake  wiggled  in  among  the  flowers. 
After  a  futile  effort  to  dislodge  it,  they  walked  back 
10  the  veranda  and  Mr.  Brown  look  up  the  Bible. 
After  looking  through  it  pages  .1  few  moments,  he 
Called  for  tin-  coa<  hman,  a  negro  man  whom  he  had 


136        A   MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

recently  employed,  who  professed  deep  religious  con- 
victions. When  the  coachman  came  in  he  told  him  of 
the  snake,  and  asked  him  to  get  it  out  of  the  flower 
bed.  The  man  made  quite  a  number  of  excuses 
and  finally  admitted  he  was  afraid.  Mr.  Brown 
said,  "Well,  James,  read  this  chapter,"  handing  him 
the  Bible  with  the  place  marked.  The  negro,  much 
flattered,  took  the  book,  and  after  reading  several 
lines  came  to  these  words,  "  Behold,  I  give  you  power 
to  tread  on  serpents,  and  nothing  shall  by  any  means 
hurt  you."  Great  beads  of  perspiration  began  to 
stand  out  on  the  negro's  face.  "Look  heah,  Mistah 
Brown,  dis  specifical  scripture  was  written  in  de 
pistle  to  de  Hebrews  and  ain't  got  no  reference  to 
niggers  whatsoever,  sah." 

Mr.  Brown  is  tender  of  heart,  but  by  reason  of  his 
investigating  mind  is  seldom  imposed  upon.  He 
looks  into  things,  and  his  strong  aversion  to  waste 
makes  him  careful  in  giving.  In  order  that  his  con- 
tribution be  not  wasted,  he  tries  to  ascertain  if  the 
object  is  worthy.  He  has  little  sympathy  for  men 
slightly  ill  and  complaining,  but  when  they  get  down 
sick  he  is  never  too  busy  to  visit  them  and  send  them 
flowers.  One  of  his  most  intimate  friends  said  to 
me,  "Mr.  Brown  has  never  made  me  a  visit  except 
when  I  was  sick.  At  such  times  he  came  often,  and 
I  could  see  sympathy  beaming  in  his  kindly  eye  and 
feel  it  in  his  warm  hand-clasp."  He  stays  by  his 
friends;  is  friendly  will)  all  but  intimate  with  none. 

Visiting  with  him  at  his  childhood  home,  I  was 


PRESENT  HOME  IN  ST.  I  OUIS 


SIDE  LIGHTS  ON  MR.  BROWN'S  LIFE  137 

greatly  impressed  by  his  eager  interest  in  the  friends 
and  associates  of  his  early  life.  His  joy  in  meeting 
them  was  apparent,  and  his  delight  was  freely  ex- 
pressed when  hearing  of  their  spiritual  and  material 
prosperity.  Those  less  favored  by  fortune,  he  sought 
out,  giving  them  the  glad  open  hand,  administering 
to  their  material  wants,  but  expressing  greater  inter- 
est in  their  spiritual  needs.  He  prayed  earnestly 
with  and  for  them.  This  practice,  I  learned,  was  not 
characteristic  of  this  visit,  but  has  been  his  custom 
for  many  years  in  his  frequent  visits  to  the  town  of 
his  youth.  We  went  to  his  mother's  grave,  he  stood 
several  moments  in  pensive  thought.  As  we  left 
he  said,  "John,  mother  was  a  noble  woman;  I  owe 
so  much  to  her.  When  I  come  to  her  grave  I  feel 
and  think  more  about  heaven  than  earth. 

"Through  life  with  all  its  lights  and  shades, 
One  vision  never,  never  fades; 
That  vision  bright  is  mother's  face, 
The  best  of  all  about  the  place. 

No  man  can  wander  far  enough, 

Though  tossed  by  winds  and  seas  so  rouidi; 

But  mother's  face  will  to  him  come, 

A    then  he  thinks  of  'home,  sweet  home." 

After  his  mother  died  he  said  to  me,  "John,  since 
mother's  death,  I   have  determined  that  I   will  put 
God  first,  family  second,  and   shoes  third.'' 
*     *     #     t-     *     *     *     + 

(  >n  a  trip  ea-t  we  had  i<>  <  hange  trains  at  .j    \.  M. 
\    we  had  an  hour  to  wait  we  <lc<  ided  to  lake  a  walk. 

The  heavens  were  <  lear,  and  a-  we  gazed  at  the  Mars 


138       A    MAN   WITH   A    PURPOSE 

two  of  special  brightness  attracted  his  attention. 
Said  he,  "  John,  do  you  think  those  two  are  Dr.  Ford 
and  Silas  Jones?  You  know  the  Bible  says,  "They 
that  are  wise  and  righteous  shall  shine  as  stars." 
(Dr.  Ford  and  Silas  Jones  were  close  friends  who 
had  recently  died.) 

He  had  lost  a  pearl  pin  while  in  the  sleeper, v/hich 
the  porter  was  unable  to  find.  His  wife  expressed 
regret  at  the  loss  and  said  she  had  paid  a  hundred  dol- 
lars for  it  to  give  him  as  a  Chirstmas  present.  He 
said,  "Mother,  mother;  look  at  yonder  star,  it  is 
much  brighter  than  the  pearl." 

Walking  through  the  state  house  at  Albany,  N.  Y., 
the  finest  state  house  in  the  world,  erected  at  a  cost 
of  twenty-three  millions,  we  were  admiring  its 
grandeur,  when  he  said:  "John,  this  is  a  beautiful 
world.  How  good  God  is  to  place  us  in  such  a 
country  with  such  a  people." 

Returning  to  the  station  we  went  to  the  barber 
shop.  There  was  only  one  barber  in,  the  night  man. 
Three  were  ahead  of  him  and  he  had  to  wait,  which 
he  patiently  did.  He  is  a  crank  on  cleanliness, 
and  neatness  of  person  is  such  a  feature  with  him 
that  it  seems  a  part  of  him.  As  his  turn  approached 
he  took  off  his  coat  and  collar,  rolled  up  his 
sleeves,  and  was  resting  with  his  elbow  on  a  vacant 
barber's  chair.  A  traveling  man  rushed  in  and  took 
the  chair.  Mistaking  Mr.  Brown  for  a  barber,  he  said, 
"I  want  a  shave,  quick."  Mr.  Brown  quietly  said 
to  him,  "There  are  two  ahead  of  you,  sir."     Just 


SIDE  LIGHTS  OX  MR.  BROWN'S  LIFE   139 

then  the  busy  chair  was  vacated  and  Mr.  Brown  took 
the  seat.  The  astonished  traveler  began  to  apolo- 
gize. Mr.  Brown  said  to  him,  ''No  apologies  are 
needed,  a  barber,  if  a  gentleman,  is  entitled  to  as 
much  respect  as  a  merchant." 

In  Granville  we  stopped  at  a  stand  to  get  a  shine. 
While  the  boy  was  engaged  in  the  task  Mr.  Brown 
said  to  him,  "Are  you  the  boss?"  "No,  the  boss  is 
away."  "You  will  soon  be  the  boss  if  he  stays 
away."  "Where  were  you  born?"  "In  New  York 
City."  Another  boy  spoke  up  saying,  "I  was  born 
in  Granville."  Mr.  Brown  said,  "I  was  born  in 
Slyboro."  As  we  walked  away  we  heard  the  boys 
speaking  in  derision  of  '  Skunkville'  the  nickname 
for  Slyboro. 

inp,  #|C  5(C  ,•',  ?JC  5J»  3J»  rf* 

On  the  way  to  New  York,  we  were  reading  the 
Herald  when  Mr.  Brown  said  to  me,  "I  sec  they 
pay  McCurdy  $150,000  salary  as  president  of  the 
Mutual  Life.  I  don't  believe  in  such  large  salaries. 
I  only  get  $5,000,  and  all  the  directors  of  our  com- 
pany get  the  same.  Dividends  arc  more  important 
than  salaries."  Continuing  he  said,  "John,  if  our 
St.  Louis  life  insurance  men  would  plow  deep  they 
would  get  the  business.  Why  should  not  St.  Louis 
lead  in  life  insurance  as  well  as  in  shoes?" 

Mr.  Brown  i>  fond  of  amusements  and  is  just  as 
intense  when  engaged  in  sport  as  in  busings.  On 
the  steamer  shuffleboard  was  a  popular  game,  being 
exrr.  ise  for  both  mind  and  body.  The  acme  of  the 
garni    is  to  get  on  '■ten."      \!t.  r  playing  the  game  a 


140       A    MAX    WITH    A    PURPOSE 

number  of  times,  the  thought  of  getting  on  "ten" 
seemed  to  catch  him  as  a  motto.  Since  then  a  favor- 
ite admonition  is  "Try  to  gel  on  'ten.'" 

His  good  cheer  and  social  disposition  soon  broke 
down  the  barriers  to  acquaintance  among  the  pas- 
sengers, many  of  them  being  attracted  by  his  candor 
and  friendly  spirit.  He  would  often  speak  to  young 
men  and  urge  them  to  cultivate  good  habits  and 
concentration,  and  to  always  try  to  get  on  "ten." 

vL*  Mg  »1*  *1-  *i*  *J*  |M 

Mr.  Brown  is  a  great  believer  in  the  magic  word 
"work."  He  believes  that  in  those  four  letters, 
WORK,  are  wrapped  up  all  possibilities.  He 
admires  the  industry  and  thrift  of  the  Jews,  their 
practical  business  acumen  and  concentration  of 
purpose.  When  walking  on  Olive  street  near  one 
of  his  factories,  he  saw  a  young  Jew  plodding  along, 
bent  under  his  pack.  He  was  followed  by  a  number 
of  boys  who  were  jeering  and  crying,  "Look  at  him! 
look  at  him!"  Throwing  up  his  arms  in  his  dis- 
tinctive way,  Mr.  Brown  said,  "Look  at  him!  yes, 
look  at  him!  he  will  own  a  big  store  on  Broadway 
some  day." 

^  -T^  -T-  ^T*  :T^  :*:  'i*  *T* 

Mr.  Brown  is  partial  to  Marden  and  other  writers 
whose  expressions  tend  to  character-building.  He 
also  reads  a  few  of  the  leading  periodicals,  but  his 
favorite  book  is  the  Bible  which  contains  the  very 
essence  of  practical  wisdom  for  every  relation  of  life. 

The  Scripture  not  only  includes  a  code  of  morals 
and  a  guide  to  health,  but  business  maxims  from  the 


SIDE  LIGHTS  OX  MR.  BROWN'S  LIFE  141 

most  successful  business  people  the  world  has  ever 
known.  With  all  our  vaunted  knowledge  and  power 
of  expression,  we  are  weak  in  practical  advice  as 
compared  with  the  old  Hebrews.  The  Jews  are 
the  most  successful  business  people  and  possessed  of 
the  most  acute  minds  of  any  race  recorded  in  his- 
tory, and  the  Bible  contains  the  cream  of  the  con- 
centrated wisdom  of  these  people,  compressed  and 
burnished  till  it  glows.  The  Jews  have  given  the 
Christian  world  its  moral  laws,  its  spiritual  ideals, 
its  sacred  faith,  and  the  rule  of  conduct  between  man 
and  man.  A  close  study  of  the  Bible,  and  the  incor- 
porating of  its  principles  into  his  being,  has  helped 
A.  D.  Brown  to  win  in  his  life  purpose.  His  ex- 
ample, more  than  his  advice,  tells  of  the  advantages 

of  living  a  moral  and  religious  life. 
*     *     *     h--     *     *     *     * 

On  a  trip  through  Holland  we  went  to  Saardam, 

famous  as  the  abiding  place  of  Peter  the  Great  while 

learning  the  trade  of  ship-building.     The  house  he 

lived  in  is  now  the-  property  of  Russia.     Mr.  Brown 

has  only  one  measuring  stick  for  all  men,  alive  or 

dead,  great  or  small,  talented  or  simple,  powerful 

or  weak,  a  Napoleon  or  a  janitor,  and  this  measure 

was    apparent   when  he  accosted  the  Russian  lady 

who  keeps  the  house:  "  Madam,  can  you  tell  me  what 

kind  of  habits  Peter  had  ?"     Our  guide,  an  old  Jew, 

broke  in  on  the  conversation  stating  that  (here  was  no 

good  in  Peter,  or  any  other  Russian;  that  his  habits 

were  as  bad  a-  Nero's. 

#     +     +     #**#     + 


i42       A   MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

Returning  lo  London  from  Stoke  Poges,  I  was 
telling  Mr.  Brown  of  the  delightful  experience  of  sit- 
ting under  the  ewe  tree  and  listening  to  my  son  read 
'Gray's  elegy'.  He  requested  me  to  read  the  poem 
to  him.  He  was  greatly  interested,  and  afterwards 
took  his  daughter  Ruth  to  the  famous  churchyard. 
He  frequently  referred  to  the  great  pleasure  afforded 
him  by  seeing  the  place  associated  with  the  name  of 
Gray,  and  made  immortal  by  his  pen. 

Jji  5jC  5JC  *(J  5JC  ?JC  *(v  3p 

When  showing  about  twenty  of  the  salesmen 
through  one  of  the  factories,  an  old  employee  living 
near,  was  reported  sick  and  unable  to  attend  to  his 
duties  at  the  store.  Mr.  Brown  took  the  salesmen 
with  him  to  call  on  the  sick  man.  In  answer  to  his 
knock,  the  maid  not  knowing  who  he  was,  said,  "  You 
will  find  him  in  the  saloon  across  the  street."  He, 
with  the  entire  party,  found  the  man  in  the  wine- 
room  with  his  face  in  his  hands  resting  on  a  table, 
asleep.  He  gave  him  a  shake.  The  startled  man, 
when  he  saw  them,  thought  he  had  snakes  in  his 
boots.  Mr.  Brown  ordered  a  carriage  and  took  him 
to  the  hospital  where  he  looked  after  him  till  he 

recovered. 

$     *     *    *     *    *     *     * 

One  of  the  leading  salesmen  secured  a  position 
in  the  house  for  his  son.  He  received  a  letter  from 
Mr.  Brown  saying,  "Your  son  was  at  Sunday  school 
yesterday,  we  were  all  glad  to  see  him."  A  few  weeks 
later,  "Your  son  was  not  at  Sunday  school  yesterday. 
I  sent  for  him  to  come  to  my  desk.     He  said  he  went 


SIDE  LIGHTS  ON  MR.  BROWN'S  LIFE  143 

out  to  the  country.     I  told  hira  if  he  could  find  a 
better  place  to  go  on  Sunday  than  the  Sunday  school 
to  tell  me,  I  wanted  to  go  with  him." 
******** 

Mr.  Brown  is  usually  very  rigid  in  asking  ques- 
tions and  getting  all  the  history  of  a  man  before 
giving  him  a  place,  but  in  some  cases  a  very  few 
questions  have  satisfied  him.  Some  years  ago  a 
man  applied  for  a  position;  he  was  busy,  but  asked 
for  whom  he  had  worked.  The  applicant  was  told 
to  call  again  to-morrow. 

Going  to  the  former  employer  he  asked,  "What  do 

you  know  about  Mr. ?"  "He  does  not  drink, 

chew,  or  smoke,  and  gets  there  every  time."  The 
man  got  the  position  without  further  questions,  and 
has  made  a  fortune. 

In  another  case  he  was  not  so  inquisitive  as  usual. 
A  young  man  from  Kentucky  sought  a  position. 
Mr.  Brown  began  with  his  questions  and  soon 
asked,  "Have  you  made  any  money?"  "Yes,  sir." 
"Have  you  saved  any?"  "Yes,  sir."  "How  much?" 
"Twenty  five  thousand  dollars."  This  answer  ex- 
cited interest  and  surprise.  He  said,  "Did  you 
make  all  that?"   "Yes,   sir."  "Hang  up  your  coat, 

you  have  a  job." 

******     *     * 

A  prominent  man  who  has  been  in  business 
twentv  five  years  within  a  block  of  Mr.  Brown 
said  of  him.  "  1  have  never  known  a  man  to  work  for 
him  who  was  industrious  and  honest,  who  did  not 
make  a  fortune.     He  does  not  work  for  himself  alone, 


144       A    MAX    WITH   A    PURPOSE 

but  for  his  employees  as  well.  He  is  absolutely 
honest  in  business  methods  and  gives  full  value  for 
all  lie  gets.  He  has  done  more  to  make  St.  Louis  a 
great  wholesale  market  than  any  other  citizen.  His 
high  character  has  had  a  business,  moral,  and  religious 
influence  on  the  world.  He  is  a  good  Christian,  a 
good  citizen,  a  good  merchant,  a  prince  of  men.  His 
Christian  character  is  shown  by  his  deeds.  To  my 
knowledge,  he  is  constantly  helping  the  needy,  and  is 
never  too  busy  to  listen  to  appeals  for  help." 

Speaking  to  a  prominent  business  man,  I  asked 
him  to  tell  me  what  he  knew  of  Mr.  Brown.  He 
replied,  "You  don't  have  to  ask  anybody  about 
Brown;  see  the  man,  he  is  an  open  book,  he  covers 
up  nothing."  When  the  old  Roman  statesman, 
"Drusus",  was  asked  by  his  architect  how  he  wanted 
his  house  built,  he  said,  "Build  it  so  that  every  citi- 
zen may  behold  every  action  I  perform."  The  de- 
mand for  legislation  requiring  corporations  to  let 
the  public  know  what  they  are  doing  and  how  they 
are  doing  it,  would  not  effect  Mr.  Brown  or  change 
his  methods  of  business,  as  he  gives  every  feature  of 
his  business  more  publicity  than  has  ever  been  sug- 
gested by  the  most  radical  advocate  of  such  meas- 
ures. 

*     *     *     #     *    *     *    # 

A  wholesale  drygoods  merchant  who  has  known 
Mr.  Brown  over  thirty  years,  speaking  of  him,  said: 
"He  is  one  of  the  greatest  men  in  St.  Louis  to-day. 
He  has  been  the  most  prominent  factor  in  making 


SIDE  LIGHTS  OX  MR.  BROWN'S  LIFE  145 

this  city  the  leading  shoe  market  of  the  world,  and 
has  done  as  much  to  make  it  a  large  distributing  center 
as  any  other  man.  His  high  character  so  clearly  re- 
flected in  his  life  as  merchant,  citizen,  and  Chris- 
tian, has  been  an  uplift  to  the  business,  social,  and 
religious  life  of  St.  Louis.  He  always  does  his  part 
and  more,  when  called  upon  for  help  in  any  move  of 
philanthropy,  charity,  or  the  betterment  of  civic  con- 
ditions. In  the  effort  to  advance  the  cause  of  civic 
righteousness  as  reflected  in  the  official  life  of  Joseph 
W.  Folk,  he  was  one  of  the  largest  contributors.  In 
company  with  another  of  the  committee  in  a  cause 
we  felt  was  for  the  best  interest  of  the  city,  as  we 
approached  his  place  of  business  we  discussed 
whether  we  should  ask  him  for  $100  or  $200.  He 
was  on  an  upper  floor  of  his  store.  He  turned, 
saying,  "What  can  I  do  for  you,  gentlemen?"  We 
explained  the  purpose  of  our  visit,  when  he  asked, 
"What  do  you  think  I  should  give?"  We  replied, 
"  Two  hundred  dollars."  Said  he,  "  Go  down  to  the 
office  and  tell  Spencer  to  give  you  a  check  for  $250, 
and  charge  to  my  account." 

"A  work  which  had  been  on  my  mind  several  days 
Le  1    me    to    phone    Mr.    Brown    one    morning,  and 

1:  if  I  could  call  and  discuss  the  matter  with  him. 
He  answered,  "Yes,  come  at  once  to  my  house." 

The     measure     required      $5,000.       He    subscribed 

$500, ordered  his  carriage, and  we  secured,  in  a  can 

Of  a  few  hours,  the  amount   Deeded." 

*        *        :i:        *        *        :|:        *        * 

A  minister  once  wenl  to  Mr.  Brown  seeking  help 


146       A   MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

for  a  certain  cause.  He  had  hardly  introduced  the 
subject  when  Mr.  Brown  said,  "I  can't  listen  to  you, 
your  collar  and  cuffs  are  so  dirty." 

*        *        *        $        :|:        $        $        $ 

A  prominent  citizen  of  Granville,  Mr.  Brown's 
early  home,  said  to  me,  "  I  knew  A.  D.  Brown  when 
a  boy,  and  while  he  was  full  of  boyish  pranks  there 
was  always  'grim  determination'  in  everything  he 
did.  If  he  wanted  a  thing  done  he  made  an  oppor- 
tunity to  do  it,  and  did  it." 

The  following  letters  were  received  from  Mr. 
Brown's  former  Pastors  and  his  present  Pastor. 

Rev.  J.  H.  Cason,  of  Royse  City,  Texas.  Mr. 
Brown's  first  pastor,  writes  : 

My  dear  Dr.  Johnston  : 

In  1867  I  met  A.  D.  Brown  in  Columbus,  Mississippi.  He 
was  a  clerk  in  the  general  store  of  his  uncle.  He  impressed 
me  as  an  unusual  boy,  in  that  he  was  absorbed  in  the 
business  of  the  store.  I  never  saw  him  take  a  minute  in 
pastime,  looking  or  conversation  on  the  street.  He  went 
and  returned  in  a  hurry-  In  the  store  he  watched  for  cus- 
tomers, and  his  bright  sunny  face  made  him  the  favorite  of 
the  country  people.  He  took  an  intelligent  interest  in  the 
business.  One  morning  about  3  o'clock  I  was  passing  the 
store;  seeing  a  light  I  went  in.  A.  D.  had  all  the  clerks  and 
some  hired  boys  assorting  potatoes,  throwing  out  the  rotten 
ones  and  wiping  dry  those  that  were  sound,  and  replacing 
them  in  barrels.  He  said  I  will  sell  to-morrow  every  sound 
potato  for  seed,  and  we  have  a  carload  of  fresh  ones  on  the  road 
from  St.  Louis.  I  will  sell  the  fresh  potatoes  to  every  mer- 
chant in  town;  we  will  make  money  out  of  the  potatoes  this 
spring.     And  they  did.     All  the  grocery  merchants  had  iust 


SIDE  LIGHTS  OX  MR.  BROWN'S  LIFE     147 

received  their  spring  supply  of  Irish  potatoes  from  Mobile, 
by  boat  and  they  were  in  bad  condition  and  rotting  rapidly, 
and  A.  D.  to  save  those  of  his  uncle  worked  all  night.  This 
was  strong  conduct  for  a  young  clerk.  Soon  after  coming  to 
Columbus  he  became  a  member  of  the  Sunday  school,  a  regu- 
lar attendant  and  close  student  of  the  Scripture.  I  said  to 
him,  "A.  D.,  I  want  you  to  take  a  class  of  seven  girls  about  thir- 
teen or  fourteen  years  old."  With  tears  in  his  eyes  he  said, 
"  Brother  Cason,  I  am  not  a  Christian.  I  cannot  tell  those 
girls  how  to  be  saved."  I  said  to  him  there  is  no  Christian 
in  the  church  that  takes  as  much  interest  in  the  Sunday  school 
a-  you  do.  You  can  be  a  Christian.  He  took  the  class. 
We  used  A.  C  Dayton's  question  books.  A  foot  note  directed 
the  teacher  to  call  the  name  of  each  member  of  the  class  and 
ask,  "Do  you  trust  in  Christ  as  your  personal  Savior?"  All 
said,  no.  One  of  the  little  girls  said,  "  Mr.  Brown,  do  you  trust 
in  Christ  as  your  jnTsonal  Savior?" 

A.  I),  came  in  tears  to  me  and  asked  to  be  relieved  of  the 
class.  I  said  to  him,  you  can  now  put  your  trust  in  Christ 
and  settle  the  question.  He  went  home  with  me;  we  prayed 
and  examined  the  promises.  Soon  he  told  the  class  that 
lie  did  trust  in  Christ,  and  it  was  not  long  before  most  of  the 
class  followed  him  in  trusting,  if  not  all  of  them.  From  this 
point  the  deepest  impressions  of  his  heart  was  the  praise  and 
honor  of  God  Religion  was  first.  I  felt  that  an  unusual 
youth  was  in  my  hand-,;  and  I  made  the  problems  through 
which  he  passed,  in  business  matters,  subjects  of  prayer  before 

I  gave  him  advice  that  <  hanged  his  plans.      I  See  the  Divine 

hand  in  what  then  seemed  to  be  darkness.     1  love  him  as 
I  have  never  loved  any  other  man.     All  that  he  has  ever  done 
0  i.ir  as  1  know,  i>  in  line  with  duty  to  business  and  devotion 
to  God. 

I  wa    in   confidant  and  counselor  in  an  affair  whicb  threat' 
ened  to  result  in  a  duel  with  a  hoi  headed  young  southerner 
who  v.a   a  clerk  in  a  rival   tore     The  moral  courage  he  dis 
played  in  settling  tin  affair  wa    commended  by  all.    He  was 


148       A    MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

actuated  solely  from  religious  considerations  and  his  duty 
to  his  mother  and  sisters.  In  the  affair  he  showed  more 
moral  courage  and  wisdom  than  I  possessed. 

Sincerely  yours, 

J.  II.  Cason. 

Dr.  J.  P.  Greene,  President  of  William  Jewell 
College,  Liberty,  Mo.,  Mr.  Brown's  pastor  for  many 
years : 

Dear  Dr.  Johnston: 

It  would  require  a  good  many  words  for  me  to  express  to 
you  my  appreciation  of  Mr.  A.  D.  Brown.  We  were  asso- 
ciated together  in  the  Third  Baptist  Church,  and  in  many 
other  benevolent  enterprises  for  ten  years.  I  have  known  him 
intimately  since  1882.  My  analysis  of  his  success  is  his  devo- 
tion to  one  thing,  and  his  intense  energy  in  pushing  that  one 
thing.  He  has  always  taken  good  care  of  himself,  and  this 
added  to  a  good  constitution,  has  enabled  him  to  do  a  tre- 
mendous amount  of  work.  His  thorough  acquaintance  with 
all  the  details  of  his  business,  and  his  determined  purpose  to 
have  every  man  connected  with  him  do  his  best,  and  his 
brilliant  leadership  in  hard  work,  have  brought  things  to  pass. 
Mr.  Brown  is  the  kind  of  a  man  that  never  fails  in  tight 
places.  He  stands  with  his  friends.  Sometimes  he  is  slow  in 
making  up  his  mind  what  course  he  will  pursue.  This  can 
be  said,  I  suppose,  of  all  earnest  men  that  mean  to  do  things. 
But  when  he  has  once  made  up  his  mind  you  may  count  on 
him.  He  will  do  all  you  expect  him  to  do  and  more,  too.  It 
would  be  out  of  taste  for  me  to  disclose  to  the  public  my  inti- 
mate acquaintance  with  Mr.  Brown.  We  have  been  con- 
fidential friends.  I  have  always  found  him  worthy  my  utmost 
confidence.  My  relationship  with  him  through  all  these 
years  has  gradually  deepened  my  love  for  him,  and  my  admi- 
ration for  his  character.  I  have  never  seen  anything  unclean, 
nor  unrighteous  in  the  man.  He  would  scorn  to  do  a  mean 
thing,  and  his  heart  is  so  tender  that  he  would  not  cause  any- 


SIDE  LIGHTS  ON  MR.  BROWN'S  LIFE  149 

body  a  tear  of  sorrow.     He  has  been  a  great  power  in  the 

Third  Church,  and  in  the  Missouri  Baptist  Sanitarium,  and 

in  William  Jewell  College.     He  has  done  much  good,  and  I 

am  sure  that  he  has  a  great  desire  to  make  his  life  count  for 

good  in  as  many  directions  as  possible.     When  I  think  of  him 

I  always  call  to  mind  that  beautiful  proverb:    "Seest  thou  a 

man  diligent  in  business?     He    shall    stand   before  kings." 

It  seems  to  me  that  this  proverb  must  have  arisen  in  some  good 

man's  mind  after  reading  the  life  of  Joseph.     So   when   I 

hear  or  think  of  it,  I  always  think  of  Joseph,  and  then  of 

Mr.  Brown.     lie  is  a  living  illustration  of  the  truthfulness  of 

this  proverb. 

Yours  very  truly, 

J.  P.  Greene. 

Dr.  W.  R.  L.  Smith,  Richmond,  Ya.,  writes: 

My  dear  Dr.  Johnston: 

I  do  like  an  appreciation  so  much  better  than  an  obituary; 
for,  though  the  latter  gives  more  freedom  to  eulogy  it  is  not 
half  so  stimulating  to  the  subject.  If  we  all  had  more  sense 
and  religion  we  should  have  more  words  of  praise  for  the 
living,  and  reserve  fewer,  perhaps,  for  the  dull  cold  ear  of 
death.  And,  by  the  way,  that  suggests  to  me  one  of  the  com- 
mendable traits  of  brother  A.  1).  Brown  which  must  not  be 
overlooked.  It  is  my  distinct  impression,  that  J  never  heard 
him  speak  unkindly  of  anyone.  He  may  have  been  too  busy 
making  shoes  to  notice  the  faults  of  others;  at  any  rate  I 
do  not  recall  a  bitter  criticism  thai  ever  fell  from  his  lips. 
In  the  Bible  it  is  one  of  die  works  of  the  perfect  man,  that  he 
i-,  cautiou  aboul  his  >|>ee(h.  He  has  said  many  things  in 
praise  of  his  brethren,  and  now  like  the  bread  casl  upon  the 

waters  they  threaten  to  come  back  to  him.    For  more  than 
live  years  I  was  brother  Brown's  pastor,  and  during  the  time 

I  and  my  family  W(  re  the  re<  [pientS  of  many  "f  his  favor-,  and 

substantial  courtesies,  the  memory  <>f  which  we  gratefully 

7  in  our  hearl  - 

I  frankly  <  1  at  hi   co     an1  devotion  to  all  the  inter- 


150        A   .MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

csts  and  services  of  his  church,  was  to  me  a  matter  of  some 
surprise.  Intense  absorption  in  a  rapidly  growing  business, 
and  the  gratification  consequent  on  multiplying  wealth  too 
often  cool  the  Christian  man's  zeal ;  not  so  with  brother  Brown, 
and  I  cordially  commend  his  example  to  all  the  prosperous 
rich.  I  rank  A.  D.  Brown  as  among  the  finest  business  men 
of  the  nation.  He  is  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  captains  of 
industry.  Born  a  poor  boy  in  New  York,  he  has  honor- 
ably and  bravely  won  his  way  among  our  merchant  princes. 
He  brought  no  collegiate  education  to  his  life  work.  His 
invested  capital  at  the  outset  was  a  lot  of  good  common  sense, 
clear  cut  purpose,  an  iron  will,  and  resistless  enthusiasm.  His 
case  and  others  like  it  make  me  sceptical  sometimes,  about 
the  amount  of  time  usually  given  to  the  schooling  of  our  boys. 

He  knows  his  business,  as  Napoleon  knew  the  art  of  war. 
He  knows  all  the  leathers  and  when  and  where  to  buy;  he 
understands  all  the  styles  of  foot  gear,  and  where  to  put  the 
stitches  and  the  tacks.  Xor  does  it  take  him  long  to  find  out 
the  right  markets  for  his  goods,  and  the  men  who  can  get  the 
largest  order. 

This  great  shoe-maker  is  to  me  an  inspiring  instance  of  the 
values  of  concentration,  energy  and  eternal  industry.  That 
is  genius,  and  that  is  the  secret  of  success.  It  is  cheer- 
ing to  know  that  brother  Brown  regards  himself  the  trustee 
of  another's  property.  God  has  given  him  capacity  and  op- 
portunity for  making  money,  and  he  has  not  forgotten  the 
claims  of  Christian  education,  Christian  missions,  and  Chris 
tian  charity.  I  love  to  see  a  liberal  man  get  rich.  There 
was  a  Brown  who  founded  Brown  University,  and  his  name 
will  live  forever.  It  may  be  there  is  another  Brown,  in  Mis- 
souri, who  will  give  his  name  to  enduring  fame  by  doing  some- 
thing large  and  splendid  for  the  world.  For  him  I  wish  all  good 
things,  with  a  long  and  increasingly  useful  and  happy  life. 

Yours  cordially, 

W.  R.  L.  Smith. 

Dr.  R.  P.  Johnston,  Pastor  Fifth  Avenue  Baptist 


SIDE  LIGHTS  ON  MR.  BROWN'S  LIFE  151 

Church,  New  York,  who  was  Mr.  Brown's  pastor 
five  years: 

Dear  Johx: 

It  affords  mc  pleasure  to  respond  to  your  request  for  a 
word  of  appreciation  of  my  honored  friend,  Mr.  A.  D. 
Brown.  It  has  been  my  privilege  in  various  pastorates  to 
be  associated  with  some  very  remarkable  men,  men  of  affairs, 
of  commanding  business  and  professional  influence  and 
standing.  Among  men  of  this  class  Mr.  Brown  is  to  be 
numbered.  By  patient  industry  and  business  genius  he 
has  built  up  a  great  enterprise,  known  all  over  the  country. 
By  methods  which  are  acknowledged  everywhere  to  be  legiti- 
mate he  has  erected  a  handsome  fortune,  and  no  suspicion  of 
dishonorable  or  underhand  methods  attach  to  his  achieve- 
ment. In  the  fair  field  of  open  competition  he  has  won  the 
laurels  of  success;  and  what  is  more  remarkable  and  praise- 
worthy, in  the  midst  of  the  stress  of  business  he  has  preserved 
the  utmost  simplicity  and  beautiful  sincerity  of  his  religious 
faith  and  life.  Prosperity  has  not,  as  it  so  often  does  with 
less  devoted  men,  obscured  his  spiritual  vision  or  cooled  the 
ardor  of  his  love  for  God.  He  has  shown  faith  by  his  works; 
and  church,  philanthropic  and  educational  institutions  have 
received  the  impulse  of  his  sympathy  and  generosity. 

While  all  his  friends  rejoice  in  his  prosperity  and  achieve- 
ment, they  also  believe  that  the  past  is  but  an  earnest  of  what 
the  future  may  bring,  and  are  hoping  and  believing  that 
the  largest   and   noblest   part   of  hi>  life  and   work  are    still 

before  him. 

Y<  rv  sincerely  yours, 

R.  I'   Johnston. 

The    following   letter    from     Mr.    Brown's  present 
or: 
My  Deas  Do<  ros  Johnston: 

You  a-k  mi-  to  write  you  my  estimate  of  Mr.  A.  D.  Brown. 

This  would  1«-  a  difficuh  task  within  the  brief  compass  of  a 
letter 


152       A    MAN    WITH   A   PURPOSE 

It  was  my  privilege  to  witness  a  characteristic  incident  in 
his  home  when  he  was  confined  to  his  room  as  the  result  of  an 
accident.     His  aged  mother  was  present  and  when  she  arose 
to  leave  lie  stood  in  deference  to  her,  and  with  deep  affection 
said,  "Mother,  I  am  trying  to  seek  first  the  Kingdom  of  God, 
and  that  means  to  put  God  first,  family  second  and  shoes 
third."     This  has  been  the  program  of  his  life.     He  does  not 
scatter  his  powers,  but  concentrates  them  in  this  three-fold 
channel.     He  lives  in  personal  companionship  with  God,  his 
home  exalts  the  teachings  of  true  religion,  and  the  business 
speaks  for  itself.     "Keep  the  Quality  up,"  is  one  of  his  favor- 
ite mottoes,  and  he  seeks  this  in  personal  character  as  well  as 
in  shoes. 

Mr.  Brown  commands  men  and  circumstances  because  he 
has  first  mastered  himself.  The  valuable  maxims  he  has 
given  to  the  business  world  are  the  product  of  his  own  expe- 
rience, and  his  most  rigorous  rules  are  for  himself.  He  does 
not  know  how  to  do  a  task  in  a  slip-shod  manner,  and  in  his 
presence  a  man  wouid  be  ashamed  not  to  do  his  best,  whether 
it  would  be  the  making  of  a  shoe  or  the  preaching  of  a  sermon. 
Hundreds  of  young  men  owe  their  business  success  to  his 
silent  but  persistent  influence. 

The  life  of  Mr.  Brown  should  be  a  source  of  strength  to 
every  minister  of  the  gospel,  encouraging  him  in  the  conviction 
that  religion  is  fundamental  in  all  true  success.  He  alone  is 
a  sufficient  refutation  of  the  remark  sometimes  heard  that  the 
decalogue  is  out  of  place  in  business.  He  bears  out  Mr. 
Gladstone's  observation  that  "Most  men  at  the  head  of  great 
movements  are  Christian   men." 

He  is  one  of  the  most  faithful  teachers  in  our  Sunday 
school,  and  in  more  than  thirty  years  he  has  rarely  missed  a 
prayer  meeting  at  the  Third  Baptist  church  except  when 
absent  from  the  city,  and  on  many  occasions  when  absent  has 
sent  his  word  of  greeting. 

There   are  many  channels    into   which  his    thought    and 


SIDE  LIGHTS  ON  MR.  BROWN'S  LIFE  153 

benevolence  have  gone  of  which  it  would  be  indelicate  for 
me  to  speak,  but  I  count  it  one  of  the  great  privileges  of  my 
life  to  be  his  friend  and  pastor. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

\V.     J.  Williamson. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

RELIGION   AND   PHILANTHROPY. 

There  is  no  line  that  separates  the  religious  and 
business  life  of  Mr.  Brown.  In  all  he  does  he  is 
zealous.  His  religion  is  a  straightforward,  practical 
kind  free  from  cant,  and  is  reflected  through  his 
transparent  honesty  in  all  the  affairs  of  life. 

Since  uniting  with  the  church  some  forty  years 
ago,  he  has  been  a  liberal  and  steadily  dependable 
contributor  to  the  work.  He  has  been  a  deacon,  trus- 
tee and  assistant  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school 
of  the  Third  Baptist  Church  of  St.  Louis  for  more 
than  twenty-five  years.  He  is  as  regular  and  system- 
atic in  the  performance  of  his  duties  to  his  church 
as  to  his  business.  His  favorite  service  is  the  mid- 
week prayer  meeting.  Not  only  does  he  attend  all  the 
church  services  himself,  but  in  a  tactful  way  urges 
his  friends  and  business  associates,  including  his 
employees,  to  do  so.  He  contributes  liberally  to  his 
church  and  to  missions.  He  is  one  of  the  twelve  who 
organized  what  is  known  as  the  "  City  Mission,"  the 
purpose  of  which  is  to  help  unfortunate  men  and 
women.  He  is  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Missouri 
Baptist  Sanitarium  of  St.  Louis,  and  has  given  to 
its  building  and  endowment  large  sums,  and  much 
time  and  thought.     He  was  a  liberal  contributor  to 

i54 


RELIGION   AND   PHILANTHROPY    155 

the  fund  for  the  purchase  of  the  site  for  the  Missouri 
Baptist  Orphans'  Home.  His  gifts  to  William  Jewell 
College  are  helping  to  make  that  college  one  of  the 
leading  educational  institutions  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley.  He  is  President  of  the  Missouri  Baptist  Sani- 
tarium, a  trustee  of  William  Jewell  College,  also  of 
Stephens  College.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Orphans' 
Home  and  City  Mission  Boards. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


ANCESTRY. 


Whether  it  be  in  the  blood  or  a  species  of  family 
honor,  we  do  not  undertake  to  say,  but  so  far  as  we 
know  where  there  is  a  high  moral  tone,  it  may  be 
traced  to  an  honorable  line  of  ancestry. 

The  Browns  have  furnished  many  distinguished 
names  in  the  history  of  America.  Forty-five  of  them 
have  a  place  in  our  encyclopedia. 

Generations  of  the  Browns  of  Providence,  Rhode 
Island,  with  steady  seriousness,  consecrated  their 
talents  and  gave  much  of  their  Wealth  to  promote 
the  public  good.  They  founded  and  sustained  with 
increasing  altruism,  churches  and  colleges.  One  of 
them  was  the  founder  of  Brown  University,  the  first 
Baptist  university  established  in  the  world.  Great 
merchants,  they  were  yet  greater  citizens.  They 
stood  for  the  highest  type  of  Christian  manhood. 

Their  ancestor,  Chad  Brown,  who  came  from 
England  in  1638,  was  the  friend  and  associate  of 
Roger  Williams,  and  with  him,  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  first  Baptist  church  in  America,  and  suc- 
ceeded him  as  its  pastor.  Chad  Brown  was  one  of 
the  agencies  that  planted  first  in  American  soil  the 
tree  of  civil  and  religious  freedom,  the  fruitage  of 
which  is  the  richest  heritage  of  the  human  race. 

,56 


THE   OLD 


CHURCH  AT  TRUTHVILLE,  ON  THE  BANKS 
OF  THE    METOWEE    RIVER. 


ANCESTRY  157 

Alanson  David  Brown  is  a  descendant  of  Chad 
Brown  and  inherited  in  a  marked  degree  his  ances- 
tor's Baptist  faith,  and  talent  as  a  merchant.  His 
great  grandfather,  Jonathan  Brown,  went  from 
Rhode  Island  in  the  seventies  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury to  Charlotte  county,  N.  Y.,  and  settled  on  the 
land,  and  established  the  homestead  where  Alanson 
was  born.  In  17S4  the  name  of  the  county  was 
changed  to  Washington,  the  most  honored  appella- 
tion known  to  Americans,  this  being  the  first  county 
or  town  to  pay  this  tribute  to  the  father  of  his  country. 
Now  this  first  Washington  county  has  forty-one 
county  namesakes,  besides  one  state,  and  many 
cities,  towns,  and   villages. 

In  1784  Jonathan  Brown,  with  others, organized  the 
Baptist  church  at  Truthvillc.  Their  declarations  of 
principles  and  faith  evince  the  same  spirit  so  manifest 
in  the  organization  of  the  church  at  Providence, 
Rhode  Island,  nearly  one  and  a  half  centuries  before, 
declaring  for  religious  liberty  and  separation  of 
church  and  state. 

In  this  church  Jonathan  Brown  was  a  deacon  and 
trustee,  and  often  in  the  absence  of  the  pastor  con- 
dueled  the  meetings  which  wen-  fust  held  in  the 
homes  of  the  members,  then  in  tin  school  house  until 
the  church  edifice  was  built  in  [802. 

In  the  early  history  of  this  church  Elder  Brown  is 
spoken  of  a  a  wi  e  counselor  in  all  the  affairs  of  the 
chunh  and  a  helper  to  both  pastor  and  members. 
On  the  occasion  "I"  his  death  in  [826,  we  find  this 
record:  "The  pastor  ha  i  losl  one  of  his  mosl  trusted 


158        A   MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

helpers,  Jonathan  Brown,  a  man  of  rare  gifts  and 
ability,  and  a  man  of  intelligence  and  piety,  true  to 
the  best  interests  of  the  cause  of  Christ." 

The  stamp  of  this  strong  Christian  character  is 
evidenced  in  his  descendants  who,  for  more  than  a 
century,  have  occupied  a  pew  in  this  same  church  and 
been  active  in  its  work.  Eight  of  Jonathan  Brown's 
direct  descendants  were  in  attendance  on  the  one 
hundred  and  twentieth  anniversary,  August  19,  1904. 

David  Brown,  the  grandfather  of  Alanson,  was 
born  in  1793.  He  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  war  of 
181 2,  a  sterling  character,  inheriting  the  traits  of  his 
father  Jonathan.  He  died  in  1 828  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
five.  His  wife,  Cornelia,  daughter  of  Charles  War- 
ren, a  descendant  of  Joseph  Warren,  the  first  martyr 
to  the  cause  of  the  Freedom  of  the  Colonies, 
survived  him  nineteen  years.  The  son  of  this 
worthy  couple,  David,  the  father  of  Alanson,  was 
born  February  4,  1820.  Being  left  an  orphan  at  the 
age  of  six,  responsibilities  were  placed  upon  him  in 
early  youth.  They  developed  a  strong  character.  He 
wooed  and  won  Matilda  O.  Roblee,  and  married  at 
the  age  of  twenty-six,  his  young  wife  being  in  her 
seventeenth  year.  To  the  old  homestead,  estab- 
lished by  his  grandfather  Jonathan,  more  than  sev- 
enty-five years  before,  he  took  his  bride.  Here  the 
children  were  born ;  three  sons,  and  three  daughters, 
all  of  whom  are  living,  Alanson  being  the  eldest. 

Both  the  parents  were  industrious,  thrifty  and 
deeply  religious,  and  strongly  impressed  their  char- 
acters on  their  children. 


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ANCESTRY  i59 

The  father  was  a  prosperous  farmer.  He  sold  the 
old  homestead  in  1865  for  $10,000  and  purchased  a 
farm  in  the  suburbs  of  Granville,  where  he  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  life  a  leading  citizen,  prominent 
in  the  affairs  of  his  town  and  county. 
,  The  name  of  David  Brown  stood  for  three  things, 
an  honest  man,  a  Baptist,  and  a  democrat,  and  to 
these  he  was  always  loyal.  His  township  was  strongly 
republican,  yet  he  was  frequently  elected  to  fill  im- 
portant offices.  He  was  a  director  of  one  of  the 
banks  of  his  town,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  first 
Baptist  church  of  Granville,  a  trustee,and  among  the 
largest  contributors  to  the  building  of  a  church  edi- 
fice and  the  support  of  its  activities. 

In  the  language  of  an  old  citizen  of  Granville,  "  The 
Browns  always  stood  for  everything  that  is  best,  for 
the  right,  for  the  good."  The  same  was  told  me  of 
the  Roblees  from  whom  came  the  mother  of  Alanson. 
The  Roblees  are  descendants  of  the  French  Hugue- 
nots who  brought  with  them  to  this  country  their 
puritan  virtues  and  Frenchman's  love  of  beauty; 
and  with  their  excellent  habits  and  loyalty  to  truth 
contributed  a  vast  share  to  the  prosperity  and  culture 
of  the  United  States. 

In  180C)  the  Roblees  united  with  the  Baptist  church 
at  Truth ville  and  since  that  time  have  been  constant 
in  it.-,  work. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

THE   PURPOSE   OF    BIOGRAPHY. 

Says  Phillips  Brooks,  "Biography  is  the  literature  of 
life.  All  literature  is  the  expression  of  life  of  some 
kind;  and  since  the  noblest  life  is  human  life,  the 
literature  that  deals  with  human  life  is  the  noblest 
literature.  The  individual  life  has  a  distinct  interest 
that  cannot  belong  to  a  group  of  lives;  therefore 
biography  has  a  charm  that  no  other  kind  of  history 
can  rival.  It  is  of  value  because  it  is  exceptional,  and 
also  representative.  Every  life  is  alike  and  unlike 
every  other.  Every  true  story  of  a  noble  life  sets 
before  those  who  read  it  something  that  can  be 
followed,  but  is  incapable  of  imitation.  It  inspires  in 
two  ways:  it  gives  help  like  the  stars  which  guide  the 
ship  from  without;  and  also  like  that  of  the  fire  that 
burns  beneath  the  engine  of  the  ship  itself." 

Biography  is  a  practical  illustration  of  the  possi- 
bilities of  human  life.  It  illustrates  life  in  action. 
Carlyle  says,  "  Biography  is  the  most  universally 
profitable,  and  the  most  universally  pleasant  of  all 
studies.  "  In  biography  life  is  real,  it  inspires  to 
strenuous  endeavor  by  putting  before  us  a  demon- 
strated attainable  ideal.  It  exhibits  what  we  can  do 
to  adjust  ourselves  to  environment,  to  take  advan- 
tage   of    favorable,    and    overcome    adverse    con- 

160 


THE   PURPOSE   OF   BIOGRAPHY  161 

ditions.  It  was  Emerson  who  said,  "  I  cannot  hear 
of  personal  vigor  of  any  kind,  or  great  power  of  per- 
formance without  fresh  resolutions.  We  cannot 
read  Plutarch  without  kindling  blood.  v  Plutarch's 
forty-six  biographies  of  parallel  Greek  and  Roman 
lives,  though  not  possessing  originality  or  great 
literary  merit,  have  been  of  more  value  to  the 
world,  and  exerted  a  greater  influence,  than  all  other 
Greek  writings.  Shakspeare  found  in  them  inspira- 
tion for  three  of  his  greatest  tragedies.  The 
biography  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  written  by  him- 
self, has  done  more  for  humanity  than  all  his  other 
writings,  not  excepting  those  on  science  and  discovery. 

History  is  of  little  interest  or  value  unless  woven 
into  the  biography  of  the  actors  in  the  drama  of  its 
shifting  scenes.  How  lifeless  would  be  the  history 
of  the  struggle  of  the  colonies  without  the  stories  of 
Washington,  Jefferson,  Henry  and  other  patriots. 
The  war  of  the  rebellion  excites  but  little  interest 
apart  from  the  heroes  of  the  struggle.  How  tame 
would  be  the  stories  of  the  battles  of  the  army  of 
Japan  without  the  names  of  Oyama,  Togo  and  other 
leaders. 

Writers  of  fiction  must  weave  their  flights  of 
fancy  into  the  biography  of  the  child  of  their  im 
agination,  to  secure  the  attention  of  the  reader. 
George  Elliot  could  never  have  reached  the  million, 
of  readers  with  her  splendid  thoughts  on  the  varied 
relations  of  life  expressed  in  the  story  without  weav 
ing  them    into  the  biographies  of  Adam  Bede  and 

Dinah   Morri  , 


16a       A   MAN   WITH   A    PURPOSE 

Through  biography  we  may  place  ourselves  in  con- 
tact with  the  noblest  of  all  ages.  The  man  whose 
life  inspires  pure  living,  right  thinking,  and  high  en- 
deavor is  worth  knowing  it  matters  not  where  or 
when  he  lived. 

The  biographies  of  the  Bible  illustrate  the  truths 
it  teaches.  The  stories  of  Abraham,  of  Joseph,  of 
Ruth,  of  Samuel,  of  Daniel,  of  David,  have  been  an 
inspiration  to  noble  thought  and  endeavor  through 
the  ages.  The  golden  thread  running  through  all  the 
pages  of  Prophecy  is  the  story  of  the  coming  Christ. 
The  secret  of  the  matchless  and  perennial  attraction 
of  the  four  gospels  is,  that  they  do  not  merely  pre- 
scribe what  men  ought  to  do  and  to  be,  but  exhibit 
what  man  has  been  and  done.  Moral  teachers  before 
the  coming  of  Christ,  conceived  and  taught  lofty 
ethical  principles,  but  Christ  not  only  transcended  in 
his  teachings  the  utmost  reach  of  their  loftiest  thought, 
but  by  the  moral  radiance  of  his  life  gave  to  the 
world  an  object  lesson  of  the  perfect  man.  Energ- 
ized by  his  Spirit  and  stimulated  by  his  example, 
men  have  followed  him  to  new  heights  of  moral 
excellence.  The  biography  of  Jesus  has  engaged 
the  thought  of  man  for  nineteen  centuries,  and  the 
power  of  his  life  has  lifted  the  race  from  the  period  of 
its  lowest  condition  of  morals  in  the  history  of  man- 
kind to  its  present  high  plane  of  love  and  light. 

God  in  his  infinite  wisdom  saw  that  four  bi- 
ographies of  his  Son  were  left  to  man,  that  the  story 
of  his  life  and  the  tragedy  of  the  Cross  might 
redeem  the  race  and  save  the  world 


CHAPTER  XXXTI. 

THE    DAY   OF    OPPORTUNITY. 

Opportunities  for  advancement  are  more  abundant 
to-day  than  ever  before  in  the  history  of  the  world. 
Paths  to  power  are  being  cleared  and  made  wider. 
The  door  to  knowledge,  to  wealth,  to  happiness, 
now  swings  so  easily  that  it  opens  to  the  touch  of  the 
man  of  purpose. 

In  mine,  field,  forest,  sea,  and  air,  are  vast  reser- 
voirs of  treasure  ready  to  flow  in  answer  to  the  call 
of  "  The  man  with  a  purpose.  " 

The  railroad,  the  steamship,  the  telegraph,  the 
telephone  are  uniting  men  in  interest  and  purpose, 
giving  them  a  better  understanding  of  each  other, 
and  enlarging  opportunities  for  achievement. 
To-day  the  man  of  honor  and  determination  has 
better  assurance  of  success  than  ever  before. 

As  the  world  advances  in  education  and  wealth 
ii  -  wants  multiply  and  new  fields  of  opportunity  are 
opened  to  supply  them.  Where  there  is  a  human 
need  linn'  i  an  opportunity  for  achievement.  The 
need  determines  the  intrinsic  value  of  everything. 
That  for  which  no  civilized  want  calls  is  without 
value.  Etisusele  for  the  farmer,  the  mechanic,  the 
I  ientist,  or  the  writer  to  spend  time  or  talent  in  pro 
during  that  which  mankind  does  not  want.     Ii  i   an 

,63 


i64        A    MAN   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

axiom,  an  unrepeatable  law,  that  he  who  would 
secure  the  pay  and  love  of  his  fellowmen  must  sup- 
ply them  with  that  which  their  essential  natures  re- 
quire. The  man  who  sees  a  need,  and  with  large 
hearted  devotion  makes  it  a  duty  and  pleasure  to 
meet  that  need,  is  a  benefactor  to  the  race.  Take 
care  of  mankind,  and  mankind's  own  interest  will 
compel  it  to  take  care  of  you.  Such  a  work  not  only 
brings  prosperity  to  the  man,  but  a  deep  peace  of 
soul,  worth  far  more  than,  treasures  in  money  and 
land.  The  highest  happiness  is  found  in  making 
others  happy.  Conscience  and  religion  unite  on 
this  plan  for  a  blissful  life. 

Young  men  slick  to  the  farm.  The  increasing 
needs  of  man,  the  improvement  in  agricultural 
machinery,  and  the  experiments  being  made  in 
agricultural  chemistry  and  practical  research,  are 
opening  new  and  broader  fields  for  the  alert 
farmer. 

There  is  no  more  inviting  field  for  sure  success 
than  the  farm,  if  knowledge  is  skillfully  and  in- 
dustriously used.  The  farmer  who  works  and 
expands  in  mind  and  soul  with  his  increasing  acres 
and    herds   is    on    the    road    to  true    success. 

Large  accumulations  of  wealth  may  not  be  so 
easily  attained  on  the  farm,  but  the  food  is  fresh  and 
more  wholesome,  the  air  more  pure,  the  exercise 
more  complete,  the  songs  of  the  birds  more  sweet, 
and  the  environs  more  free  from  evil.  He  who 
would  fill  his  life  with  happy  days  may  find  them  in 
other  pursuits,  but  the  widest  experience  shows  that 


THE   DAY   OF  OPPORTUNITY    165 

in  America  the  farmer  is  most  certain  of  reaching 
that  goal. 

The  mechanical  field  is  bright  with  promise. 
Every  new  invention  widens  the  field  of  mechanics 
and  multiplies  the  opportunity  of  the  workers  to 
rise  to  the  ranks  of  wisdom  and  independence.  The 
spirit  of  brotherhood  is  expanding  with  the  widen- 
ing influence  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  is  slowly 
but  surely  battering  down  the  wall  of  prejudice  be- 
tween capital  and  labor,  which  has  ever  been  a 
menace  to  our  social  fabric,  and  to  progress  in  the 
business  world.  Capitalists  are  coming  to  recog- 
nize that  the  interests  of  the  mechanic  and  laboring 
man  and  their  own  arc  one.  That  the  stability, 
safety,  and  increase  of  capital  are  dependent  on  the 
hearty  and  loyal  co-operation  of  the  rank  and  file  of 
the  industrial  army.  Employees  are  also  realizing 
that  they  are  equally  concerned  with  the  employer 
in  the  stability  and  growth  of  material  wealth. 

The  industrial  field  has  grown  to  such  proportions, 
and  the  demand  for  the  laborer  who  will  put 
thought  into  his  work  is  increasing  to  such  an  ex- 
tent, that  the  rewards  seem  to  have  reached  un- 
reasonable proportion  in  many  of  the  activities.  To 
think  qui(  kly,  to  reason  accurately,  to  be  honest  and 
diligent,  are  requisites  to  advaiu  ement  in  these  days 
of  rapid  progress,  and  the  man  who  possesses  these 
qualities  is  in  demand. 

Mai  hinery  will  soon  do  all  the  unintelligent  work, 

but   the  ni.iii  of  intelligence,  and   skill   is  always  ill 
demand.     The  young  man  who  works  in  the  ranks 


166        A    MAX   WITH   A   PURPOSE 

of  the  industrial  army  is  happier  and  more  favored 
than  the  son  of  wealthy  parents  who  has  been 
reared  in  luxury,  and  whose  only  thought  is  to  play 
society,  sport  a  yacht,  or  kill  time  in  idle  diversions. 
From  the  industrial  army  came  Watt,  Stephenson, 
Howe,  McCormick,  Carnegie,  Edison,  and  thousands 
of  others  whose  thought  and  labor  have  poured 
wealth  into  the  pockets  of  mankind  and  made  their 
names  immortal. 

The  door  to  trade  is  wider  open,  and  more  inviting 
than  ever  be j ore.  In  the  field  of  commerce  the  oppor- 
tunities were  never  so  many  as  now.  Civilization  and 
growing  wealth  have  converted  luxuries  into  necessi- 
ties, and  the  human  family  now  include  in  its  wants 
everything  the  earth  produces.  The  inhabitants  of 
the  frozen  North  demand  the  fruits  and  flowers  of  the 
sunny  South,  while  those  of  the  tropics  are  calling  for 
the  products  of  the  rigid  climate.  The  humble  home 
of  the  cotter  is  now  luxuriantly  furnished,  and  his 
family  must  have  good  clothing,  dainty  ornaments, 
musical  instruments,  books  and  pictures. 

The  restless  tides  of  trade  constantly  ebb  and  flow 
with  new  combinations,  supplying  opportunity  for 
the  effort  of  thousands  where  formerly  a  score  met 
the  demand.  The  great  transportation  interests  on 
land  and  sea  not  only  facilitate  commerce  and  open 
fields  in  every  country  of  earth,  but  the  great  army 
they  employ  creates  a  demand  that  is  of  itself  a 
field  of  immense  proportions,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
enormous  demands  of  these  gigantic  combinations 
in  construction,  equipment  and  operation. 


THE   DAY   OF  OPPORTUNITY     167 

To  such  tremendous  proportions  have  the  de- 
mands of  the  human  family  grown,  that  the  most 
insignificant  article  requires  the  efforts  of  multi- 
tudes, in  its  production,  transportation  and  dis- 
tribution. The  many  hundred  varieties  of  luscious 
apples  are  all  developed  from  the  little  bitter  crab. 
These  apples  not  only  delight  the  taste  and  con- 
tribute to  the  health  and  sustenance  of  man,  but  in 
their  production  and  distribution  give  employment 
to  an  army  of  fruit-growers,  coopers,  carry  and 
merchants.  The  wild-rose  which  formerly  wasted 
its  sweetness  on  the  desert  air,  has  been  developed 
into  over  three  thousand  varieties;  their  fragrance 
and  beauty  not  only  refine  and  elevate  the  heart 
where  sunshine  has  sway,  and  carries  peace  and 
comfort  to  the  sick  and  lonely,  but  have  opened  a 
field  of  commerce  that  engages  the  work  of  thou- 
sands of  merchants. 

The  wants  of  the  world  are  countless  and  are 
daily  increasing.  The  opportunities  in  the  field 
of  trade  for  supplying  these  wants  are  multiplying, 
and  the  rewards  for  skill  and  advanced  methods  in 
the  art  of  distribution  are  growing  greater  as  civili- 
zation moves  onward. 

In  the  professions,  advancing  civilization  has  enor- 
mously increased  the  demand  for  competenl  men. 
In  the  legal  profession,  (hanged  conditions  and 
multiplied  values  require  a  thorough  knowledge 
and  experience  ill  the  draught  of  documents  that 
will    stand    under   the    searchlight    of     the    modern 

court.      \-  population  increases  values  rise  and  in- 


i08        A    MAN   WITH   A    PURPOSE 

terests  clash.  Acts  which  arc  allowable  in  a  com 
munity  of  a  few  families,  become  crimes  in  crowded 
areas.  The  laws  necessary  in  sanitation,  the  use  of 
highways,  and  the  public  peace,  establish  new  con- 
ditions and  a  new  code  of  morals  that  must  be 
observed.  Our  over  industrious  legislatures  make 
laws  by  the  hundreds  and  our  federal  and  state  con- 
stitutions are  being  constantly  amended,  our  su- 
preme judges  are  daily  making  decisions  placing  a 
new  construction  on  existing  laws.  The  legal  con- 
flicts over  new  regulations  make  bewildering  con- 
fusion for  the  attorney  to  adjust.  The  demand  for 
legal  counsel  and  sane  advice  will  grow  as  the  years 
condense  population  and  multiply  great  commercial 
and  financial  transactions.  The  rewards  for  pro- 
ficiency in  this  profession  arc  so  great  that  we  cannot 
retain  men  of  large  legal  lore  on  the  supreme  bench 
unless  they  are  influenced  more  by  the  spirit  of  the 
statesman  and  patriot  than  that  of  personal  gain. 

The  profession  oj  journalism  is  an  alluring  one 
for  bright  men  who  are  ambitious  to  take  a  hand  in 
the  world's  work.  This  field  is  a  school  of  mental 
training  full  of  potent  promise.  In  this,  as  in  all 
other  fields  the  demand  for  able  and  competent  men 
is  in  excess  of  the  supply.  The  increase  in  periodi- 
cals and  publications  of  all  kinds  is  marvelous.  It 
is  estimated  that  there  is  an  increase  of  three  hundred 
thousand  readers  every  month.  New  publications, 
and  the  improvement  of  existing  ones,  create  a  de- 
mand for  trained  and  gifted  writers.  An  omnivorous 
reading  public  is  looking  for  something  worth  while, 


THE   DAY  OF   OPPORTUNITY     169 

and  there  is  a  supply  of  hidden  literary  material  in 
the  museums  of  earth,  and  in  the  social  and  business 
life,  that  can  never  be  exhausted.  Changes  are  con- 
stantly being  made,  hourly  the  curtain  is  rung  up 
disclosing  new  scenes  in  the  drama  of  life,  and  all 
nature  shows  a  new  face  every  year. 

The  man  with  an  alert  eye  who  can  see  and  analyze 
at  a  glance,  and  then  describe  and  draw  logical  con- 
clusions, is  greatly  needed  in  this,  "An  age  on  ages 
telling,  when  to  be  living  is  sublime." 

In  the  exalted  profession  0)  medicine,  the  demand 
for  men  of  highest  skill  exceeds  the  supply.  A  great 
desire  of  life  is  to  be  free  from  pain.  As  wealth  in- 
creases, the  indulgence  in  luxuries  and  unhealthy 
habits  grows  stronger  among  the  well-to-do ;  this  tends 
to  sickness,  and  they  are  willing  to  pay  for  relief. 

In  the  grind  of  the  arbitrary  forward  march  of  the 
age,  many  must  work  in  unhealthful  and  dangerous 
environs,  and  the  restless  ambition  of  Americans  who 
eat,  walk,  and  even  sleep  in  a  rush,  intensities  ills. 
This  profession  has  to  do  with  God's  masterpiece, 
the  human  body.  All  creative  processes  looked  to 
the  building  of  man's  body,  and  it  should  stir  the 
blood  of  any  man  who  engages  in  the  sacred  calling 
of  keeping  this  vehicle  of  the  soul  perfect.  To  re- 
lieve  [tain,  to  defeat  disease,  to  enter  the  holiest 
relations  of  family  life,  is  a  high  privilege  that  should 
be  granted  only  to  the  best  and  truesl  men.  The 
need  and  reward  for  men  in  the  an  <>f  healing  i  - 1  <>n 
stantly  in<  rea  ing. 

One  of  tin  noblest  professions  is  that  oj  teaching. 


170        A   MAX   WITH  A   PURPOSE 

The  demand  for  well-equipped  teachers  increases 
with  the  supply.  The  desire  to  learn  grows  stronger 
as  we  advance  in  knowledge.  The  pay  in  material 
wealth  is  not  so  great  in  proportion  to  the  knowledge 
required  as  in  other  professions,  but  rich  daily  exper- 
iences and  the  inspiration  of  training  young  minds 
develop  poise  and  strength  of  character  that  is  in- 
valuable in  life.  The  teacher's  greatest  reward  is  in 
increased  wisdom,  and  the  consciousness  of  doing 
the  good  that  the  calling  secures.  The  highest  joy 
is  found  in  making  others  happy,  and  the  completest 
wisdom  is  secured  by  those  who  faithfully  endeavor 
to  give  instruction  to  others. 

In  this  age  of  multiplied  opportunity  there  is  no 
more  inviting  field  to  the  man  of  purpose,  to  the  man 
who  wishes  to  make  his  life  count  in  the  transforming 
forces   of    the   world,    than    that   of   the    ministry. 

Within  the  last  decade,  theological  thought  and 
interpretation  have  slightly  changed.  Most  of  the 
churches  have  shifted  their  views  as  to  tenets  and 
creeds,  but  the  basal  truths  remain  unchanged. 
Vital  truths  are  eternal  and  do  not  change.  The 
departure  from  the  essential  doctrines  of  the  gospel 
is  losing  its  force,  and  honest  thinkers  are  returning 
in  loyalty  to  the  Bible.  Churches  have  shifted  from 
words  to  work,  from  theory  to  practice.  The 
churches  of  Christ  are  gaining  in  strength  and  power, 
not  as  ecclesiastical  bodies,  but  as  working  influences 
in  the  uplift  and  regeneration  of  the  world.  As 
Christians  grow  in  grace  there  is  less  disposition  to 
be  exclusive,  and  this  spirit  is  broadening  the  work 


THE   DAY   OF   OPPORTUNITY     171 

of  the  churches.  The  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation, and  other  organizations  of  that  class  are 
kept  up  through  the  collective  influence  of  the 
churches.  The  same  may  be  said  of  hospitals  and 
other  works  of  philanthropy;  they  are  built-up 
and  supported  by  church  influences  working  outside 
of  denominational  lines. 

The  demand  was  never  so  great  for  capable 
ministers  as  to-day;  men  who  are  spiritual  leaders, 
men  who  are  soul-winners,  men  who  will  preach  in 
deeds  as  well  as  words,  men  who  glory  in  the  gospel 
story,  men  whose  words  will  have  added  weight  with 
fathers  and  mothers  because  of  having  led  their  boys 
from   sin   and    temptation  to  virtue  and  salvation. 

The  ministry  needs  men  of  faith,  strong  and 
sympathetic,  who  will  preach  the  gospel  of  Jesus 
and  walk  in  his  footsteps.  There  is  no  calling  in 
which  the  rewards  arc  so  great  to  the  man  of  large 
faith,  warm  heart,  clear  head,  and  heroic  spirit  as 
that  of  the  ministry.  The  demand  for  such  men  is 
more  emphatic  than  ever  before,  and  the  rewards 
arc  infinitely  more  valuable  than  treasures  of  houses, 
lands,  and  stock-.  Such  a  preacher  is  never  under- 
paid, however  meager  his  pay  in  dollars  and  cents. 
The  rewards  of  a  minister  arc  beyond  computing  in 
terms  of  Imam  e. 

To-day  the  word  "opportunity"  is  written  over 
the  door  of  every  field  of  human  endeavor  and  says 
to  the  man  with  a  purpose,  "  Come  in." 


INDEX. 


Abraham,  162. 
Addington,  J.  A. ,29. 
Addison,  Joseph   94. 
Advertising,  131. 
Armour,  Philip  D.,  9 
Armstrong,  Leroy,  no. 
Ashland,  Mo.,  44. 
Attention  to  Detail,  21. 
Augustine,  128. 
Backbone,  31. 
Band  of  Hope,  19. 
Baptist  Church,  Granville,  X. 

Y.,  i59. 
Baptist     Church,      Jefferson 

City,  45. 
Baptist    Church,    Providence, 

R.  I.,  157. 
Baptist    Church,    Truthville, 

N.  Y.,  157,  159. 
Baptist    Church,    Third,    Si. 

Louis,  38,  46,  75,  151,  154. 
Baptist,   Orphans   Home,    St. 

Louis,  46,  155. 
BaptiM,  Sanitarium,  St.  Louis, 

\S,  149,  154,  155. 
Barnum  Hot<-l,  St.  Louis,  28, 

29.  3°- 

,  Lawn- iK  e,  45. 
Hide,  Adam,  161 . 
Beveridge,  \llxTt  J.  103. 
Bills,  Charles  ('.,  36. 
I'.ili  ,  Mi,,  Ella,  35. 
Biography,  160. 
Blaine,  J ame    I  '• .,  1 1  >. 
Bok,  Edward,  a  1. 
Bo  ton,  m.i  >.,  «,  7s,  83,  H|. 

Brady,  Ilor.n  <•  1 .    X  j ,  85  . 

Bragg,  1  if  nry  M.,  39. 
Britton,  1  rank,  32. 
Brittfin,  James,  30. 


Brooks,  Phillips,  160. 
Brown,  Alanson,   Jr.,  36,  90, 

93- 
Brown,  Charles,  22,  25,  26. 
Brown,  Mrs.  A.  D.,  36,  135, 

I37»  158- 
Brown,  Chad.,  156,  157. 
Brown,  David,  13,  17,  21,  158. 
Brown,   Mrs.  David,    13,    19, 

23,  24,  26,  28,  141. 
Brown,  Estelle,  36. 
Brown,  Cornelia,  15S. 
Brown,  George  Warren,  25, 

26. 
Brown,  J.  P.,  23. 
Brown,  Helene,  36. 
Brown,  Jane,  36. 
Brown,  Jonathan,  157,  158. 
Brown,  Laura,  25,  28. 
Brown,  Nicholas,  97,  156. 
Browns  of  America,  156. 
Browns  of  Rhode  Island,  156. 
Brown,  Paul,  104. 
Brown,  Ruth,  36,  146. 
Brown,  Vesta,  36. 
Brougham,  H.  P.,  63. 
Bryant   &  St  rat  ton,  47,  50. 
Burnes,  L.  C,  104. 

Hums,  Robert,  97. 
Buxton,  Charles,  76. 

Byron,  35. 

( !aesar,  Julius,  43. 

( landor,  05,  [44, 
Cary,  Alii  e,  100. 

Carleton,  Murray,  104. 

Card,  from  Elder  Rothschild's 

Hank,  39. 
( 'are,  of  Body,   104. 
Carl  vie,  Thomas,   ioij,    100. 

Carnegie,  Andrew,  \.\.  [66, 


'73 


l7A 


INDEX 


Carroll,  W.  H.,  34. 
Cash  System,  32, 33,34,5 •  ■  >  '  5- 
Cason,  J.  H.,  25,  27,  151. 
Cheerfulness,  93,  94,  144. 
Chesterfield,   Fourth   Earl  of, 

108. 
Church  Friends,  30. 
Cicero,  Marcus  Tullius,   127. 
City  Boy,  14- 
Clark,  Champ.,  103. 
Cleanliness,  100,  143,  150. 
Cochrane,  Bourke,  134. 
Concentration,  18,  41,  7-,.  144 
Commercial,  Bank,  29. 
Cockrell,  F.  M.,  102. 
Cooper,  Peter,  97. 
Cornell,  Ezra,  97 
Cowper,  William,  38. 
Courage,  107. 
Country  Boy,  14,  51. 
Crabbe,  George,  64. 
Cupples,  Samuel,  9,  103. 
Daniel,  162. 
David,  162. 
Dayton,  S.  C,  151. 
Determination,  107,  150. 
Dibble,  Mrs.  Laura,  25,  28. 
Diligence,  98,  107. 
Dingley,  Nelson,  115. 
Douglas,  W.  L.  no. 
Dow,  Neal,  41. 
Dress,  83. 

Duty,  on  hides,  no. 
Early   Tasks,    The    influence 

of,  14. 
Economy,  15,  19,  67,  104. 
Eliot,  George,  161. 
El  Paso,  Texas,  60. 
Ely,  Frank,  28,  29,  44,  45. 
Emerson,  Ralph    Waldo,    31, 

42,  161. 
Employment,  109. 
Enthusiasm,    33,    41,    42,    45, 

93»  95.  J°7- 
Estes,  J.  H.,  26. 
Everett,  Edward,  127. 
Eureka  Springs,  Ark.,  64. 
Farmer  boy,  Influence  of,  on 

city,  50. 
Faunce,  W.  H.  P.,  103. 


Fidelity,  107. 
Field,  Cyrus,  14. 
Field,  Edward,  14. 
Field,  Marshall,  9,  15,  50. 
Finnett,  John,  24. 
Folk,  Joseph  W.,  145. 
Ford,  S.  H.,  138. 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  49,  161. 
Franklin,  John,  E.,  104. 
Frugality,  22,  50,  100. 
Garfield,  James  A.,  113. 
Generosity,  100. 
Gilsie  House,  New  York,  134. 
Girard,  Stephen,  97. 
Gladstone,  W.  E.,  113. 
Globe-Democrat,    St.    Louis, 

130. 
Goethe,  Johann  W.,  107. 
Gould,  Jay,  21. 
Gray,  Joseph,  24. 
Gray,  Thomas,  142. 
Granville,  N.  Y.,  86. 
Greely,  Horace,  41,  48. 
Greene,  J.  P.,  149. 
Guaymus,  Mexico,  57. 
Guernsey,  David  W.,  28. 
Habit,  14,  15,  62,63,  100,  112, 

144,  146. 
Hale,  Edmond  R.,  56. 
Hamilton,  Alexander,  55. 
Hamilton,  James,  29,  32,  37. 
Harvard,  John,  97. 
Hawley,  W.  F.,  35. 
Health,  100,  107. 
Henry,  Patrick,  161. 
Herald,  New  York,  139. 
Ilines,  Jim,  21. 
Honesty,  42,  50,  104. 
Idleness,  in. 
Impurity,  101. 
Industry,  15,  18,  19,  22,  33, 

42,  45-  5°>  °7»  9°.  104»  161. 
Influence,  39,  45,  50. 
Integrity,  50,  57,  107. 
Jefferson  City.  Mo.,  45. 
Jefferson,  Thomas,  49,  161. 
Jews,  140. 
Johnston,    J.    Lawrence    B. 

139,  146. 
Johnston,  R.  P. ,150. 


INDEX 


i/5 


Jones,  Silas  P.,  28,  142. 

Jonson,  Ben,  100. 

Joseph,  162. 

Journalism,  16S. 

Kincaid,  J.  H.,  21,  22,  106. 

King,  A.  W.,  25. 

Ladd,  Chauncey,  41,  89. 

Ladd,  Charles  P.,  91. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  133. 

Little  Things,  82,  85. 

Longfellow,  W.  H.,  128. 

Louisville  Theological  Semi- 
nary, 44. 

Lytton,  Bulwer,  42. 

Marden,  O.  S.,  140. 

Mason,  Charles  L.,  106. 

Mason,  L.  R.,  19. 

Marmaduke  Military  Acad- 
emy, 57. 

Maxims,  145. 

Maxims  of  Elder  Rothschild, 

39»  M5- 

Melson,  E.  P.,  104. 

Merchants  Rank,  28,  29. 

Metropolitan  Tabernacle, 
London,  114,  129. 

Moltke,  Von,  82. 

Momentum,  with  united  num- 
bers, 89. 

Morgan,  J.  M.,  26,  27. 

Morris,  Dinah,  161. 

Mottoes,  23,  24,  27,  40,  41, 

4.3.  49.  77.  «s4.  144- 
McCormick,  Cyrus,  [66. 
McLaren,  Williams    &  Com 

pany,  28,  29. 
M<  IJroy,W.F.,.|7,  52,97 
M<  Kinlcv,  William,  115,  [34. 
McCurdy,  Rii  bard,  139. 

Napoleon,  (>,  Si. 

ro,  1.41. 

lonan,  'I  noma  1,  26. 
<  Opportunity,    Door  open   to, 

36,    <•■>.     I63 

( Opportunity,  for  the   fai  mei , 

[64. 
Opportunity,    foi    the   physi- 

1 1 . 1 1 1 ,  1 ( «) 
Opportunity,  for  the  lawyer, 

.67. 


Opportunity,  for  the  teacher, 

170. 
Opportunity,  for  the  merchant. 

169. 
Opportunity,  for  the  mechanic, 

165. 
Opportunity,  for  the  minister, 

170. 
Opportunity,  for  the  journal 

ist,  168.  ' 
Oyama,  161. 
Panic,  1873,  32,  33. 
Panic,  1893,  130. 
Parker,  L.  S.,  105. 
Patti,  Adelina,  75. 
Peabody,  George,  97. 
Peter  the  Great,  141,  142. 
Planters  Hotel,  St.  Louis,  35. 
Piatt,  O.  H.,  15. 
Pluck,  32,  107. 
Plutarch,  161. 
Poor  Boy,  14,  15,  16. 
Princeton,  Two  Students  of, 

14.  15- 
Purity,  42,  48,  ior,  105,  107. 
Purpose,  33,  48,  56,  79,  93,  94, 

107. 
Randolph,  Tom,  105. 
Record-Herald,  Chicago,  130. 
Religion  tends  to  economy, 

is- 

Republic,  St.  Louis,  55,  130. 
Reverses,  Value  of,  18. 
Rice,  W.  B.,  33. 

Rice  &  Hutchins,  33. 

Ri«  h  Men's  Sons,   14,   1  ;,   i<> 

[68. 
Righteousness  leads  to  health. 

48. 
RoUee,  Matilda.  <>.,  ,-x. 
Roblees  of  Granville,  \.  \ 

159- 
Koi  ky  Farm  .  15. 
Roe,  John  J  ,   15, 
Roth  11  bild,  39. 
Roosevelt,  Theodore,  1 1 1 .  1 1  | 

l.S. 

Ruth,  toa 

Sargent,  Ep<  ■,  108. 
Scott,  Walter,  48,  m. 


1 76 


INDEX 


Sentcr.  \Y.  M.,  28. 
Shcrrod,  C.  F.,  25. 
Shakespeare,  William,  70,  108, 

161. 
Simmons,  E.  C,  9. 
Sloan,  James  M.,  84. 
Sloan,  W.  M..  53,  54- 
Small,  Potatoes,  17. 
Smile,  The  value  of  a,  93. 
Smiles,  Samuel,  94. 
Smith,  Sydney,  100. 
Smith,  W.  R.  L.,  149. 
Southern    Hotel,     St.    Louis, 

33- 
Spencer,  R.  F.  ,  57,  145. 
Spicer,  Albert,  104. 
Spurgeon,  C.  H.,  113,  129. 
Stony  Farm,  The  advantages 

of  the,  15. 
Stephens  College,  155. 
Stephens,  E.  W.,  105. 
Stephenson,  166. 
Stoke  Poges,  142. 
Stowe,  Bills    &  Whitney,  35. 
Sumner,  Charles,  30. 
Sunlight  Factory,  77. 
Tariff,  Protective,  115. 
Teachers,  50. 
Teasdale,  Miss  Kate,  27. 
Teasdale,  W.  C.  Sen,  27,  62. 

141. 
Teasdale,  W.  C.  Jr.,  29,  62. 
Thrift,   18,  33,  90,  96,  97,  98, 

116,  161. 


Time,  42. 
Togo,  42,   161. 
Truth,  22,  46,  48,  102. 
Touraine  Hotel,  Boston,  84. 
Van  Dyke,  Henry,  76. 
Vice,  67,  97,  101. 
Virtue,  67,  97,  101. 
Wade,  Festus  J.,  103. 
Wanamaker,  John,  41,  103. 
Waltham,  Mass.,  35. 
Warren,  Charles,  158. 
Warren,  Joseph,  158. 
Washington,  George,  43,  55, 

82,  161. 
Watt,  166. 

Webster,  Daniel,  37,  100. 
Wealthy  Parents,  16. 
Wellington,  Duke  of,  82. 
Wesley,  John,  100. 
What  can  I  do  best,  20. 
Wheeler,  Joseph,  no. 
Wilcox,  Ella  Wheeler,  93. 
Williams,  Eugene  F.,  34. 
William  Jewell  College,    149, 

Williams,  Roger,  156. 

Williamson,  W.  J.,   135,  153. 

Williamson,  Mrs.  W.  J.,  135. 

Work,  in,  140. 

Yale,  Elihu,  97. 

Yeatman,  James  E.,  28,  21). 

Young,  Edward,  24. 

Zeal,  45,  70. 

Zimmerman,  Harrv,  87. 


The  Question  of  the  Hour 

BY 

JOHN  T.  M.  JOHNSTON,  D.  D. 


What   Leading   Men   Say  of  It : 

CENTRAL  REVIEW,  ST.  LOUIS. 

'  Dr.  Johnston  is  a  master  of  the  art  of  saying  great  things." 

THE  STANDARD,  CHICAGO. 

"  Dr.  Johnston  is  a  close  thinker  and  student.  In  'The  Question  of 
the  Hour'  he  has  given  to  the  world  a  volume  rich  in  great  thoughts 
and  fascinating  in  style.  ' 

THE  MIRROR,  ST.  LOUIS. 

"  Eloquent,  straightforward,  convincing." 

THE  CHRISTIAN  EVANGELIST,  ST.  LOUIS. 

"  "The  Question  of  the  Hour,'  by  Dr.  John  T.  M.  Johnston  of  Delmar 
church,  reveals  the  spiritual  breadth  of  the  author,  his  in-ight.  his 
catholicity,  his  ability  to  se-;  the  vital  points  of  any  subject  and 
present  them  with  clearness  and  tores." 

THE  WORD  AND  WAY,  KANSAS  CITY. 

"  It  will  gladden  hearts  and  enrich  lives.  Dr.  Johnston  is  a  laborious 
student  wi;h  a  keen  interest  in  men  and  things".  Has  traveled  much, 
seen  much,  learned  much.  Hasan  active  brain  and  a  big  warm 
heart,  which  he  effectively  uses  in  sharing  his  vision  with  others." 

HENRY  C.  MABIE,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  BOSTON. 

"  'The  Question  of  the  Hour'  is  full  of  stirring  thought  and  noble 
utterances,  characteristic  of  its  honored  author." 

GEORGE  W.  TRUETT,  D.   D.,  LL.  D.,   DALLAS,  TEXAS. 
"  'The  Question  of  the  Hour'  is  all  good  from  hrst  to  last." 

JOHN    CLIFFORD,     LL.    B.,    D.    D.,     LONDON,     Prest.    Baptist 
World  Alliance. 

"The  timely  treatment  of  timely  subjects  in  'The  Question  <•>(  the 
Hour' is  able  and  gratifying,  and  will  help  on  thi  3  ol  the 

world." 

SAMUEL  J.  NICCOLLS,  D.   D.,  LL.   D.,  ST.  LOUIS. 

"Tin-  autboi  ony  for  truth  is  clear  and  po  itlve,  plain  and 

pi  ii  !!■  al,  and  i  i  t  Jrm.     'The 

i  ol  t iiu  Honi   !"■  Ini  pirattoiuu,  it  baa  i  iihsm.hi." 

H.  L.  MOREHOUSE,  D.  D.,  LL.   D  .  NEW  YORK. 

'•  l  hnd  it  dil  the  perusal  ol  its  con- 

tents.   'I  be  Quest!  m  of  the  tl  ol   the 

author   winch    Im.s  given  him  such  a  large  place   in  the  life  ol   this 

H.   E.  TRUEX.  D.   D.,  MEXICO,  MO. 

"  ''I  be  '.  ill  iur'     .  I  shines.     It  is  full 

ol  illustration,  Information  and  Inspiratl  a 

PROF.  GEO.  PLATT  KNOX,  ST.  LOUIS. 

••  'i  ...   Qui    •    a  ol  the  I  lour   has  w, ' 


B.  H.  CARROLL,  D.   D.,  LL    D.,  WACO,  TEXAS. 

"The  messages  in  'The  Question  of  the  Hour'  are  short,  are  spicy, 
are  timely." 

R.  J.  WILLINGHAM,   D.    D.,  RICHMOND,  VA. 

"  The  Question  of  the  Hour'  is  great  it  has  a  mission,  it  will  ac- 
complish good,  in  hearts,  homes,  churches  and  the  worid." 

JUDGE  A.  G.  MOSLEY,  ATOKA,  I.  T. 

"The  volume  is  rich  in  thought  and  eloquence." 

W.  R.  L.  SMITH,  D.  D.,   RICHMOND,  VA. 

"The  swing  and  vigor  of  the  author's  work,  the  dash  and  brilliancy 
of  his  paragraphs  will  win  the  admiration  of  his  readers." 

EDGAR  E.  FOLK,  D.  D.,  NASHVILLE,  TENN. 
"The  volume  is  fresh,  stimulating,  helpful." 

J.  S.  McCLELLAN,  ST.  LOUIS, 

"  'The  Question  of  the  Hour'  could  have  been  appropriately  named 
'Crystallized  Thought  of  the  Twentietli  Century.'  The  author  con- 
sidered the  wants  of  the  reading  public  who  find  surplus  time  a  scarce 
article." 

J.   S.  KEMPER,  D.   D.,  CARTHAGE,  MO. 

"  'The  Question  of  the  Hour'  is  the  key  note,  the  issue  of  the  hour, 
the  century,  the  age.    The  message  is  great,  is  timely." 

J.  M.  FROST,  D.  D.,  NASHVILLE,  TENN. 

"  Its  contents  are  wonderfully  typical  of  the  author.  To  read  it  is  a 
delight  and  inspiration." 

MANLY  J.  BREAKER,  D.  D..  ST.  LOUIS. 

"Dr.  Johnston  has  chosen  themes  that  interest  all,  wrought  them 
out  with  unstinted  pains,  and  presented  in  a  form  at  once  strikingly 
characteristic  and  thoroughly  interesting. 

W.   H.  P.  FAUNCE,   D.  D.,  LL.  D  ,  Prest.   Brown  University. 

"The  author  of  'The  Question  of  the  Hour'  has  remarkable  power 
for  conveying  himself  through  the  printed  page  In  reading  the 
book  I  feel  as  if  1  were  listening  t.i  his  voice.  The  messages  in  this 
volume  aie  spoken  in  no  uncertain  tones  and  will  be  carried  far  and 
wide." 

WALTER  WILLIAMS,  COLUMBIA,  MO. 

"The  themes  touch  the  deeps  of  life.  'The  Question  of  the  Hour 
is  filled  with  helpful  thoughts  expressed  in  clear  and  sparkling 
phase.  On  every  page  are  gems  which  merit  quotation  and  re- 
membrance.  The  author  says  that  which  is  worth  while,  and  says  it 
in  fitting  phraseology." 

AUSTEN  K.   DeBLOIS,  D.   D.,  CHICAGO. 

"  I  he  volume  is  instinct  with  the  virility  of  a  strong  man's  convictions 
and  the  messages  are  the  results  of  a  careful  and  scholarly  study  of 
the  chief  issues  of  the  time." 

HON.  W.  B.  MUNSON,  DENISON,  TEXAS. 

"The  author  has  the  faculty  of  putting  more  good  sense  and  warm 
hearted  human  nature  in  his  messages  than  any  other  whose  works 
1  have  read." 

J.  C.  ARMSTRONG,  D.   D.,  ST.  LOUIS. 

"  Few  men  surpass  Dr.  Johnston  in  ability  to  grasp  the  meaning  of 
passing  events  and  giving  them  prophetic  interpretation  He  is  a 
scientist  and  seer ;  he  understands  facts  and  in  th-Mii  reads  the  future. 
He  knows  men  and  things,  and  knows  how  to  describe  them." 


A.  U.   BOONE,  D.  D.,  MEMPHIS,  TENN. 

"  "The  Question  of  the  Hour'  is  just  to  my  liking.  Its  contents  are 
instructive,  uplifting,  vigorous  and  insp.ing." 

W.  C.  BITTING,  D.  D.,  ST.  LOUIS. 

"  Dr.  Johnston  has  a  singular  felicity  in  putting  himself  in  his  literary 
style.  In  'The  Question  of  the  Hour  he  has  been  judicial  in  his 
estimates,  discriminating  in  his  material  and  saneir  his  words.  The 
volume  does  credit  to  his  head  as  well  as  his  warm  heart,  and  wide- 
ness  of  outlook." 

DAVID  M.  RAMSEY,  D.   D.,  CHARLESTON    S.  C. 

"  Each  chapter  is  a  gem.  The  chapter  on  Great  Britain  is  full  of  the 
kind  of  information  the  reader  wants  and  is  told  in  a  natural  way, 
with  fine  touches  of  the  chatty  method  so  necessary  in  good 
narrative." 

E.  G.   DAVIS,  ST.  LOUIS. 

"  Dr.  Johnston  is  never  more  himself  than  when  lifting  the  horizon  of 
some  worthy  man  or  worthy  enterprise.  In  'The  Question  of  the 
Hour*  the  best  expression  of  his  manner  before  an  audience  is  found 
in  the  chapter  '  Visions  and  Plans.'  A  visionist  himself  of  the  most 
practical  kind,  he  knows  how  to  reach  the  heart's  best  impulses,  he 
knows  how  to  make  men  believe  in  themselves— that  they  can — if 
they  will.  The  book  throughout  is  frank  and  fearless,  full  of  spark- 
ling wit,  the  lustrous  generosity  and  the  keen  insight  of  one  who 
knows  men  and  their  battles." 

J.  C.  MAPLE,  D.   D.,  ARMSTRONG,  MO. 

"The  addresses  of  Dr.  Johnston,  although  in  reading  them  you  miss 
his  charming  eloquence,  yet  they  are  so  profound  and  clearly  ex- 
pressed, the  burning  words  warm  the  type." 

REV.  GOVE  JOHNSON,  BUFFALO,  N.  Y. 

"  It  was  a  great  joy  and  treat  to  me  to  follow  the  author  through  the 
timely  subjects  treated,  especially  his  observations  in  Great  Britain." 

W.  J.  WILLIAMSON,  D.   D.,  ST.  LOUIS. 

"  'The  Question  of  the  Hour'  is  a  many  sided  book  and  speaks  to 
every  condition  of  life.  Dr.  Johnston  has  sanely  interpreted  Divine 
truth  in  terms  of  humanity,  bringing  to  the  heart  the  noblest  incen- 
tives. Many  a  young  reader  will  be  inspired  to  dream  and  to  plan, 
joining  with  noble  lives  in  the  upreach  for  a  crown." 

THE  CENTRAL  BAPTIST,  ST.  LOUIS. 

"  The  Question  of  the  Hour'  met  with  such  demand  that  the  first 
edition  h;is  been  exhausted,  and  a  second  with  additional  messages 
and  index  t < >  proper  names  is  mst  from  the  press.    The  volume  is  the 
cream  of  the  thinking  and  ol  the  experience  of  a  wide  awake 
set  bat  the  rare  faculty  ol  being  able  to  look  in  all  directions, 

and  of  thinking  while  he  looks,    li  is  an  illustration  how  occasionally 
is  found  ri   man  who  can  put  himself  into  the  book  he   writes.     Its 
bical  sketches  are  models  of  their  class  and  mines  of  useful 

Information." 


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AMERICAN    BAPTIST 
PUBLICATION     SOCIETY 

PHILADELPHIA,    CHICAGO.    ST.   LOUIS 
DALLAS,     ATLANTA,     BOSTON 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


Form  L9 — 15m-10,'48(B10UO)444 


THE  LIBRARY 


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